Destructive Games: Hunter (Ethne)
by DemonessOfHelheim
Summary: A fiery female vixen picks up new clues in her search for a childhood friend. Raised with the fierce warrior race, the crafty fox finds her friend and her fate entwined with the most unlikely of people, including a soft hearted warrior that sparks a life she would have never imagined. [Goku/oc]
1. Chapter 1

**Hunter Chapter** **1**

 _Disclosure:_ _I do not own the_ _Z Fighters or any affiliated characters._

x:x:x:x

Inside a dimly lit hall way, a lone century in red paced. The walls were grey, the floor was grey, even the ceiling was grey, the only color or light came from a lighted red strip where the floor met the wall. The armoured guard with his shouldered plasma gun moved in evenly measured paces. A soft hum came from the wiring in the walls and the soldier's footsteps echoed softly as he strode back and forth in front of a lone grey door.

Unknown to the guard, a silent shadow moved overhead. Perfectly timing the century's methodic strides, the shadow slipped into the door, shutting it silently just as the guard was turning toward the door again.

The room inside was even darker than the hall, the only light being from one of the planet's many moons, streaming in through a gap between heavy curtains. But the dark had no effect on the shadow. Gold eyes flickered in the blankness as the figure casually evaded the maze of furniture and slumbering naked bodies strewn around the room. Zitat hadn't wasted any time spending the money he had stolen from a prominent buisness man one star system over. Judging from the room and the numerous nude females, Zitat's first move must have been to hire an entire brothel and hole up with his new honeys in the most exclusive and secure hotel on the planet.

Golden eyes raked over the naked, slumbering thief. He was a decent enough looking male with the pale green skin and large horns desirable to his species. Zitat probably wasn't so bad, just a desperate guy longing for a lifestyle far out of his reach, but that didn't matter to the figure. The only thing that mattered was the bounty, and Zitat had pissed off the wrong man so the bounty was _large._

Silently gliding to the window, the figure slid it open quietly. Cool night air and a wondrous glittering cityscape greeted the gold eyes from the sixtieth floor window. The loud sounds of a city at night assulted furry ears.

Savoring the night air in a deep breath, the shadow worked quickly. Grabbing the thief, Zitat was thrown out the window before he had a chance to wake, the shadow leaping out after.

The figure caught its prize midair and clamped a slender hand with pointed black tipped nails over her prey's mouth just as he woke to scream. Tying a gag over Zitat's mouth, the figure shifted him to her shoulders just in time to land with the subtlety and grace of a cat before striding off unseen into the night.

 **Thud**

Zitat was plopped unceremoniously onto a large and ornate desk. A round figure in a chair facing away from the desk and toward a wall of windows jumped at the sudden noise.

"How the hell did you get into my..." a glutteral voice began to rage from behind the desk as he whirled his chair to see the scene before him. The first thing the buisness man saw was Zitat, naked, gagged, and hog tied on his desk, blinking at him helplessly. The next thing he noticed, was that his apparently useless guards weren't streaming into his still locked and well secured hundredth floor office. Finally, he noticed the female shaped figure standing half obscured by shadow. "Damn. You're good," the shadow's client mused before bursting into boisterous laughter. "I mean they said you were good, but damn, you're _good."_

"Enough flattery. Where's my bounty," the female voice snapped dangerously.

"Well, I was thinking..."

"Client's shouldn't think," the shadowy woman warned.

The buisness man turned from amused to irritated. No one dared speak to him like that! "Now see here, missy!..."

The shadow moved and was suddenly behind him. By the time he registered he felt a clawed hand on his throat, the obese hulking billionaire was crashing through twenty-paned glass and dangling by his throat high above the world below. The shattering glass triggered the security system. Seconds later, armed guards came filing in at an alarming rate. "Freeze!" The commanding shouted.

"Unless you wish to have a *stain* on the concrete for a master, I suggest you lower your weapons," the female snarled. "Besides, we were only negotiating," she smiled, bringing the large man back inside, placing his feet on the glass littered carpet. "Isn't that right?" She asked coyly, smirking to show a glint of fang as she dusted off the shards from her client's shoulders.

"R-right," he answered cautiously. He turned to glare at his men. _"Well?_ You heard the lady, get out!" The buisness man roared. As his men filled out, he sat back down in his chair. "Very well. A deal is a deal. But I was only going to suggest another task with a s _ignificant_ pay increase."

"Not interested. Do you have what I want our not?" The figure crossed her arms inpatiently.

"Yes. Here," he handed her a sealed folder. "Information on the three known remaining Saiyans." The folder was snatched from his hand and the female stood by the shattered window to examine its contents. "I may have other jobs for you down the road. If you were to leave some contact information..."

"No."

"But..."

"No."

"Just a name then."

"Tell me, if you or anyone knew my name or how to contact me, would I be doing my job right?" And with that she gone, out the window, and somewhere out of sight.

×:×:×:×

Alone in a small ship that she called 'classic' but most would refer to as 'hunk of junk' or maybe 'pile of shit', 'jalopy' had been thrown around a time or two, the female flopped down on an old cot to examine her reward.

Inside contained documents and records of personal encounters and sitings of Saiyans since the destruction of Vegeta-sai. It painted her a story of three males, including the prince himself, who were off-world at the time working for Frieza. As far as the file was concerned, they were still under Frieza's employ and their last known location was some planet called Namek.

She had remembered the salty prince from the time she spent training on Vegeta-sai as a child, Napa and Raditz as well. They clearly weren't the female she was seeking.

Crumpling the papers in frustration, she resolved to check out Namek and see if these other Saiyans knew anything about a female making it off the planet before its destruction. The female closed her eyes and fell into a restless sleep, dreaming of a friend she knew long ago.

×:×:×:×

Walking through one of gardens on Lord Beerus' planet, Goku was deep in thought on his way to see Whis. He had a lot to mull over at the moment.

He had recieved a message through Whis a few months ago that Chi Chi was leaving him. She was fed up dealing with a husband that worked so hard on his training but wouldn't lift a finger to work and earn some money to support their young family. She was tired of nagging him and tired of trying. He initially thought she was just mad, like she so often got, but he hadn't heard anything since and was starting to realize it was really over.

Chi Chi was the only woman he had ever been with since they had been together since children. Sure he loved her, the only woman he had really thought about being with and the mother of his sons, but he found he wasn't as broken up as he should be. He was more broken up about not being broken up than he was about losing Chi Chi. It was actually causing quite the moral dilemma for the sweet hearted Saiyan.

He _should_ be more upset. Only girl he had thought of being with, mother to his child, blah blah blah. But he found that his life really hadn't been effected much. He was still here, training with Whis. Chi Chi was still there, on Earth, raising their son Goten. Overall, the carefree warrior just felt bad for... not feeling all that bad.

On top of all that, Beerus had announced his impending retirment. His million year watch was drawing to a close. He was growing even more defensive of his position as his retirment drew closer, knowing one of Whis' Saiyan students was going to replace him. Ultimately, the feline was growing edgy waiting for his opportunity to sleep for the next several decades without interruption and his impatience at having to wait for a suitable God of Destruction to ascend.

Goku knew Vegeta was gunning hard for the position. The power, the fear, the respect, it suited the Saiyan Prince like a glove. Goku was more interested in the ability to train for the next million years and the chance to groweven stringer and fight stronger foes. And the food sure as hell didn't hurt.

But the kind hearted fighter wasn't really sure he'd be up to all the destroying, especially the killing, needed to keep balance in the universe. But then, maybe he was. Maybe he could make the universe a safer, more peaceful place if he was in charge of the destruction. If Vegeta got the position, honestly Gokuwas a little worried he might revert to his old ways and go on killing and destroying mercilessly. His life with Bulma and Trunks had changed him somewhat and kept him in check a little but since Bulma... well, she wasn't there to keep the gruff Saiyan in check anymore.

Goku was so deep in thought, he walked right passed Whis without noticing. "Ahem," Whis cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Oh, hey, Whis," Goku said with a not quite so cheery smile.

"Something on your mind?" The instructor asked.

Goku rubbed the back of his head. "Well... it's like I got a bunch of bees in my head."

Vegeta's scoff drew his attention. "Only you would make such an idiotic comparison for thinking. Try not to strain yourself too hard, Kakkarot, your brain may actually explode," Vegeta laughed harshly at the image his words provided him.

Whis tapped his staff. "Now now, that's enough, you two. Honestly, I don't think even Lord Beerus and Lord Champa fight this much," Whis said with a shake of his head. "Now listen up, after today's training, I have a special assignment for you both."

×:×:×:×

"But I don't want to go! I'll be the only Trodaí on a planet full of monkeys!" The young child complained to her father.

"Enough, Ethne. Not another word. You were selected to attend training on Vegeta-sai. It is a great honor for you and for our family," her stern father chided as he placed her bag in the ship. The fox-like Trodaí had recently forged an alliance with the Saiyans. Part of the agreement had been for the Trodaí to send their most promising student to be trained by the Saiyans in an attempt to familiarize eachother of their different cultures and the Saiyans felt it may be a start to spreading their way of life to valuable allies.

Ethne sat next to her father in silence for the entirety of the four day journey. She didn't even mutter a goodbye when he passed her off to a large Saiyan male. Holding her chin high, fists clenched, golden eyes facing firmly in front, she didn't even bother watching her only family member leave. They wanted her to be like the Saiyans? Fine, she'd be Saiyan. She would be just as proud and cold and strong as any of those damned monkeys. The large Saiyan escorted her through the palace, pointing out places of note on their way to the throne room, kitchen, training grounds, trainee barracks, the like. The whole time, Ethne silently took in her surroundings, making mental notes.

When she arrived to the throne room, King Vegeta and his son were sitting proudly on their thrones. Ethne was walked to the bottom of the steps at the foot of the thrones where she knelt and bowed her head respectfully.

"The Lady Ethne of the Trodaí," the male Saiyan introduced.

"Hmph, she doesn't look like much," the child prince commented. Gold eyes snapped up to glare at the prince. Dark eyes narrowed back at her for her insolent glare but before the prince could respond, the King held up his hand to stay his young son.

"She is the best student the Trodaí have to offer. I'm sure she'll be a welcome addition. Take her to the training fields, let's see where she stands," the Kings said evenly, but Ethne didn't like the wicked smirk the little prince got from hearing those words.

Ethne had come to the conclusion that, with few exceptions, Saiyans had dark hair, dark eyes, and thin brown tails tucked around their waist. Well, at least they had one thing in common, a tail, except hers was bushy and a vivid red with a black tip she let sway and twitch freely behind her. Her hair matched her tail, fiery in color with black tips. As with all Trodaí, her eyes were a bright gold, her ears foxlike, and her mouth held sharply pointed canines, giving her a wolfish grin.

The female child was put in Saiyan armour and placed on the training field. The petite girl felt utterly lost in the crowd of large Saiyans that had gathered in curiosity to see the alien recruit in her debut.  
Except for the prince, who was watching from a balcony with his father, all the young trainees had been gathered on the center training field. A young male, rather large for his age, was the first to step forward to face the quiet female, a cocky smirk plastered on his face. Ethne watched him crouch into a ready position before charging forward with a battle cry.

Ethne stood stoically until just before the Saiyan reached her. She flashed a fang in a smirk and twirled to the side, leaving the Saiyan to charge air and skid to a hault. He came at her again, this time she flipped over his head, landing back to back with him. The quickly enraging Saiyan youth sent an elbow backward at her. She easily dodged. Ethne continued the the young Saiyan's embarassment, never sending a strike of her own, until he was sweaty and panting, shamefully throwing in the towel.

She smirked at the Prince's visible frustration at the Trodaí for not having her ass handed to her by the first Saiyan she came across. Ethne continued her initiation, rarely attacking, always evading, getting the young Saiyans to relent of their own accord.

This went on until a young female, around her age, stepped forward into the ring. Ethne could sense this one was different.

Right off the bat, the female was visibly distinguished from other Saiyans by her dark red hair. Her movements differed slightly as well. She had the strong, proud gait of a Saiyan, but there was something slightly more reserved, perhaps thoughtful?

The red head and Ethne faced each other down, neither moving. "The males couldn't hack it so they send a female in to clean up after them," Ethne smirked, baring a lone fang. She had found that bantering with an opponent often gave her insight to her target.

The female shrugged and smirked. "I guess you know how it is." Slowly, they began to circle eachother, both looking for an opening. The Saiyan struck first, a test more than seeking concact. Ethne easily dodged. A few more test punches and kicks to feel her opponent out, all easily dodged by Ethne.

"Come on, Red, you're going to have to do better than that," the Trodaí teased, unintentionally igniting a nickname that would stick to the Saiyan female.

The Saiyan lunged at her. Ethne was temporarily taken aback by her speed, scrambling to block the attacks before finally settling into the pace and doing her usual dance.

"You're going to have to go on the offensive sometime if you expect to beat me, little Vixen," the female said between blows.

The two ended up in a grapple for a moment, each smirking, barely able to contain their excitement over the fight. They finally sprang apart and Ethne asked, "What's your name?"

"Pomegra," she said before rushing forward.

"Ethne," she introduced, sliding between the Saiyan's strides and ending up behind her.

Pomegra turned and smirked at the smaller opponent across from her as she tightened her readied stance. _She doesn't attack, just dodges and wears out her opponent with her quick, nimble form,_ the Saiyan thought in the few seconds the girls eyed one another. Coming up with a quick strategy, Pomegra rushed in and sent a basic one-two punch at the intern fox. Just as she thought, the crafty creature stepped wide right at the last possible second and Pomegra's first punch hit only the air behind where the fox used to be. Using her own momentum as she went ahead and readied the second punch anyways, Pomegra crossed the second punch under her outstretched other hand and barly grazed the startled fox's cheek.

Not letting her opponent think longer then necessary, Pomegra quickly untwisted her body and came at the tiny vixen with multiple, calculated attacks that made the foxy girl smile as she danced around in an evasive dance, sometimes barely missing the strong, red headed saiyan's relentless attacks.

 _Yes, this one is definitely different,_ the fox mused silently as she grinned. Both didn't know it then, but this was the start of a friendship that would last through the years and through countless battles and heartaches

×:×:×:×

On a moon not far from where Namek once resided, there sat a fueling station accompanied by a hotel and a saloon within a large dome to hold atmosphere.

The doors of the saloon swung open. Tail twitching, Ethne strode over to bar. The primarily male clientele eyed the petite female. Fixating gold eyes on the bar tender, Ethne leaned on the bar, her arms situated in such a way that pushed up her cleavage. Her tail swished slowly behind.

"Hi," she purred.

The bar tender, a tall blue male, looked the female over and leaned an elbow on the bar top, smirking at her. "Hi there. What can I do for ya, darlin'?"

For most females, wearing tight black pants and a black cropped tank in a place like this would be dangerous. For Ethne, sex appeal was just another tool she often used, and she didn't mind asking for trouble. With a black tipped claw, the Trodaí traced circles on the counter and looked up at the barkeep through long lashes. "I came here looking for a friend on Namek, but I can't seem to find it," Ethne pouted.

"Sorry, darlin'. Namek was destroyed, oh, probably close to twenty years ago. If you had a friend there they're probably dead or stood you up, but no one in their right mind would stand up a lady like you."

Fuck. Ethne cursed in her head but didn't let her frustration cross her face. The best lead she had had in years and the planet was fucking gone. "Well, maybe you've heard of my friend. She's a Saiyan with red..."

 _"Saiyan?_ Think there were a couple of those on Namek when it blew. From what I heard, the Namekians moved to some planet in the Sgtio System," he suggested, trying to stay on the beautiful girl's good side.

"Thank you, _darling._ You've been such a help," Ethne purred, running a nail under his chin. With that, she turned and strode out, the sway of her tail extenuating the sway of her hips.

×:×:×:

Thunderous cracks and bangs filled the air. A serene purple sky lay lazily overhead. Somewhere in the lush gardens, the God of Destruction lay slumbering on a particularly sunny branch. Standing on some rocky landscape nearby, stood a pale man with a white swirl of hair.

The raucous noise originated high above the patiently watching man. Blow for blow, the blue Saiyans clashed. Both grunted, growled, and groaned as they faced off. It had been a long afternoon of intense training, but both were eager for more.

Goku smirked, enjoying the fight, Vegeta was always a challenge. He chuckled as Vegeta connected a hard punch to his kidney. _Wow, Vegeta's gettin' good,_ he thought before sweeping his leg under Vegeta's. He watched as the shorter Saiyan shot up and brought a fist towards his face. Grabbing the fist in his large hand, he spun a kick at the prince. _He isn't the only one that's been trainin' though._

Growling, Vegeta ripped his hand free and leapt back. He smirked as Goku loudly exhaled over kicking air.

Down on the rocks below, Whis lightly tapped his staff a single time. Both warriors stopped instantly and lowered themselves to stand in front of their instructor.

The pale man smile contently at his panting pupils. "Oh my my, that was a good practice."

With his trademark goofball grin, the tall Saiyan's hand found the back of his head.  
"Heh heh, yeah that was pretty good, Vegeta."

"Hmph," was the only reply the prince made as his arms crossed against his chest.

"Oi oi hey, keep the noise level down! What does a God have to do to get some sleep around here?!" the formerly slumbering god complained as he stretched and eyed the branch he lay on through lazy slits in his eyes.

"Beerus sama, isn't it about time for that mission?" Whis reminded his senior student with a smile. Both Saiyans perked up and listened to their mentor with new fervor.

"Mmmm? Oh...right," Beerus said with an exaggerated yawn, "But only one of them can ascend. See to it, Whis, I have more pressing matters to attend to, but bring me back some sushi when you get to Earth," The cat smiled in self-satisfaction as he closed his eyes again and nestled back comfortably on the tree branch.

Whis laughed lightly before turning back to the Super Saiyan Gods. "You see, there is a small planet in the lower third quadrant of our universe that has become a dead planet. No life is on the planet and it needs to be eradicated. Beerus sama and I thought it would be good practice for you two to go destroy it." His smile broadened.

Goku's brow furrowed as he scratched his head with one long finger and Vegeta stood still thinking. That seemed pretty rash to Goku and he spoke first. "Sooo, there's _no_ life on this planet then?" The attendant shook his head to confirm and Goku resumed his thinking.

"Why?" Vegeta asked suddenly.

Whis looked at him curiously, "Why what, Vegeta?"

"Why do you want us to destroy it?" He eyed the flamboyant attendant suspiciously.

"Oh ho ho ho, he is on to us, Beerus sama. Oh ho ho ho ho," the attendant laughed.

An idea sprang in the sweet Saiyan's mind and he punded one fist into his other hand. "Yosh! I know! Why don't we just take some animals and people to the planet and make use of it? No reason to destroying the whole thing…"

Vegeta rolled his eyes at his naive counterpart and Beerus growled, his sensitive ears perking up at the loud Saiyan once again, "Grrr, it is a waste of space and needs to be destroyed!" He roared with an almost comic intensity, springing to a sitting position with spittle flying from his mouth. He soon settle back though, content with the shocked look on each of the Saiyan's faces.

Whis sighed, "How about the first to destroy the planet doesn't have to do housework during Beerus sama's next nap, hmm?" The blue haired males exchanged a disbelieving look before turning back to Whis.

"You better hold to that," Vegeta muttered under his breath as he flew to Whis, stopping to stand next to him. Goku, still racking his brain over other options than flat out destroying a planet, joined, but slower, more apprehensive pace.

Whis smiled, and with a gentle tap of his staff, the trio transported away; up into the sky in a beam of lights off into the vast emptiness of space. Goku had a bad feeling about just up and destroying a whole planet like it was a field trip. He wasn't sure if it was his reluctance or something about the way Whis smiled, but something had him feeling uneasy.

×:×:×:×

After a month's journey, Ethne had reached the Sgtio System, a large star system consisting of seventeen planets. Starting from the planet that was closest to the sun while being a livable distance away, she made her way down the line.

On a tepid, lush planet, Ethne scanned the natural scenery for signs of civilization. Seeing none where she landed, she flew off to scan nearby areas. As she soared, she pulled out the tear shaped stone that resided on her shirt attached to a silver chain around her neck. The stone pulsed softly with a crimson glow. As she searched for life, her mind wondered to how she had obtained the stone.

x:x:x:x

A young Saiyan Prince watched two females in their early teens, his age, fighting in the training grounds below. From his vantage point on a balcony, Vegeta could see the girls smirking as they traded blows. Every day he saw the two females go at it. One ever evading, one ever striking, both learning a great deal from the other as they egged eachother on.

He could hear their teasing comments echoing off the walls behind him. They were relentless, both in their taunts and their attacks, but neither held the malice the prince would expect. Vegeta growled and clenched his fist. He was tired of watching them fight, they needed to get off his training grounds. A smirk crossed his face as a plan quickly formulated. The Saiyan Prince drifted over the balcony and landed on the packed dirt below. The girls instantly stopped fighting to bow to the young prince. He smirked, at least they had learned that much.

"What do you need, Veggie," the fox asked, irritably crossing her arms.

Vegeta grit his teeth and let that horrendous nickname slide this time. "Can't I come by to check on my troops?"

The girls looked at eachother then back to Vegeta. "No," They answered simultaneously.

He snarled. "Very well, I have a side project for you."

Ethne's ears lay back in irritation. Pomegra rolled her eyes. "Right. What meaningless chore is it _this_ time?"

"Well if you're not interested I can always get Raditz and Riimu to do it for me," Vegeta shrugged and turned to walk away.

The girls exchanged a look, both now curious. "What kind of project are we talking about?" Pomegra asked.

Vegeta smirked triumphantly before turning around. "I've been hearing reports about a monster over in the high mountain caves of Sector 9."

"A monster?" Pomegra asked disbelieving.

"It's said to be unbeatable," he tempted.

The girls smirked and Ethne said, "Consider it done."

"You know he's just trying to get rid of us for a while," Pomegra commented as they flew through the clouds.

"Yeah. Anything to get away from the palace for a while," the fox said.

Red smirked wickedly at her friend. "You know it's going to be _freezing_ up there, right?"

Ethne faltered and fell back for a moment. "Fuck. I _hate_ the cold," she grumbled, catching up to the laughing Saiyan.

As they rised in altituden the duo both raised an arm to shield their eyes from the blinding snow and wind as they flew through the highest peaks on Vegeta-sai. The freezing air screamed by their ears, the fox lay hers flat against her head. Ethne's pointed ears perked up from low sounds coming from nearby.

"Hey, wait up," she yelled, barely audible over the wind. Pomegra came to a stop and looked to her friend. Ethne pointed to her ear then down in the direction of the noise. Pomegra nodded in understanding and the girls flew down in search of the source.

The red-headed Saiyan's whistle drew Ethne's attention from her search. She saw her friend nodding to a cave entrance. Both entered cautiously, immediatly greeted by the sudden stillness after the blizzard that raged outside the narrow entrance.

Ethne's ears twitched, she could hear metal sliding on metal and tapping rock. The pair moved silently down the hall, peering around a corner, they saw a cavern open up. Lit by lanterns strung around the wall, three Tuffle males were mining something. Two hacked away at stone while a third loaded the rubble into a cart. The cart sat on a metal track that disappeared into a tunnel that vanished deep into the mountain.

They ducked back around the corner. "I'm guessing the "monster" is just this little mining project," the Saiyan said flatly.

"I thought the Tuffles were dead," the Trodaí questioned.

"Looks like they missed a few," Pomegra smirked and moved to make an attack.

Ethne put a hand on her friend's arm to stop her. "Wait. I want to see what they're doing."

"Why?" Red questioned. The vixen shrugged. The Saiyan rolled her eyes at her friend's curiosity. "Fine. How? Are you just going to walk right up and ask them?" She asked with biting sarcasm.

Ethne nodded and smirked. "Yep." She strode towards the cavern entrance.

Pomegra's eyes widened in shock. "Wait! Are you insane?" She whispered harshly.

"Follow my lead," the fox winked at her friend and walked right into the cavern. She walked up to the nearest Tuffle who was swinging away at the stone. "Excuse me, sir?" She asked sweetly. The startled male dropped his pic ax, drawing the attention of the other two. "Thank goodness we ran into you! We've been wandering around these caves for hours, we can't find our way out," Ethne pouted.

The Tuffles looked at eachother nervously then back to the female addressing them. Her golden eyes glinted in the flickering light as she smiled innocently at them.

"Hey, you're _Tuffles_ aren't you? I thought you were all gone. I've always wanted to meet one," the young vixen purred. "My friend and I have always found Tuffles interesting," she cued Pomegra who entered the carvern. The Tuffle she was addressing blushed slightly and chuckled nervously.

"What are you guys doing in a place like _this?"_ Pomegra asked, following her friend's lead. She approached the other two Tuffles.

"Mining," one answered but then recieved an elbow to the ribs by his comrade as though it was secret.

"It must get awfully lonely down here all by yourselves," Ethne said, backing the one against the rock wall.

"We're not alone," he responded, cheeks bright red now.

"Are your mates here?" Red asked sweetly.

The males laughed nervously. "They're off in the tunnels on the other side with the rest," the one Ethne addressed said.

"I don't have a mate," offered up one of the two Pomegra talked to. She winked at him and he blushed.

Ethne noticed a tear shaped stone in the rock next to the Tuffle's neck. She reached out a hand, gently brushing him with her claws as she reached passed and plucked the stone out. "Is this what you're mining?" She asked.

The Tuffle nodded. "Yes."

"It isn't very pretty. What's it for?" The Trodaí inquired.

"It's how we keep track of eachother in the tunnels. If you cut yourself on the stone, they glow with your Ki so long as you're alive. If a stone stops glowing, we know someone is dead. If it is glowing, they're missing and need help," the single one eagerly explained to Pomegra.

"Well, we really should be getting back to our friends," Ethne said, backing away slightly.

"I thought you said you were lost," one said suspiciously. The Truffles exchanged suspicious looks before grabbing up their pick axes.

"Shit," the fox cursed.

Pomegra jumped back towards the exit and blasted the ceiling above the Tuffles. "Run!" She called to her friend. The two bolted and sped through the tunnels they had come in through as the cavern collapsed behind them. Gravel and dust invaded their nostrils as they reached the edge of the collapse. The pair coughed violently then started laughing. "So did you learn everything you wanted to?" Pomegra asked.

"Yep. I'm satisfied," she beamed playfully. "And look what I snagged," she opened up her grey and dusty palm to reveal two dark tear shaped stones.

The Saiyan wiped her brow with a dusty arm uselessly as she approached. "Are those the stones they were mining for?" Ethne nodded. In a swift motion, she swiped the point of one along her friend's grey forearm. A small red scratch appeared as the cut drew blood through the dust. "Hey!" Red snapped indignantly, grabbing her arm. Ethne showed the other stone to Red then sliced her own arm. "What are you doing?" Pomegra asked.

The Trodaí held out her palm. The dark stones were each tipped in blood. The crimson droplets soon soaked into them and they began to admit a light. One stone glowed a blood red, the other glowed a fiery orange-red. They shone brightly for a moment before settling in a low, pulsing glow.  
"Remember what the Tuffle said? It stops glowing if the person who cut themselves on it dies," Ethne said, handing the orangeish one to her friend. "Now I can keep track of you," she smiled wolfishly.

x:x:x:x

After a few minutes of searching, Ethne was about to call it quits until her sensitive nose picked up the smell of smoke and something cooking. It was a long way off before she saw a wisp of smoke rising into the air. Shortly after, small round buildings came into view.

Her eyes scanned the green men before she landed in the center of their small village. The curious faces all gathered around her apprehensively. The last time some unknown being came to their planet things didn't turn out so well. Still, the peaceful Namekians wanted to trust people.

Ethne scanned the crowd. Every face was green, not a single Saiyan among them. "You are Namekians, correct?" She asked clearly so they could all hear.

An old Namek, perhaps the eldest there, stepped forward holding a staff. "Yes. We are Namekian. And may we ask, who are you? Why have you come to our planet?"

"My name is Ethne. I've been searching for a Saiyan," she informed them.

"There are no Saiyans here," the elder stated, not giving her any unnecessary information since he still couldn't discern her intentions. For all they knew, she was seeking to destroy their Saiyan friend Goku or his sons.

Ethne approached the elder slowly, making sure that her hands remained visible to the Namekians at all times. Her ears lay back in a submissive gesture. "Please. I've been searching for someone I knew as a child. She was Saiyan. I simply wish to know if she died when Vegeta-sai was destroyed or if she is still out there somewhere," she explained, doing her best to display honesty and openness to gain the peaceful people's trust. "I managed to trace the last remaining Saiyans to Namek, but when I tried to look there... Please, I'm just looking for a friend."

The elder Namek mulled her words over for a time before he finally answered. "There were a couple Saiyans on Namek, yes. But you say your friend was female?" Ethne nodded. The elder shook his head. "I'm sorry, but the only Saiyans we saw were male."

Fuck! This just wasn't turning out to be the lead she hoped for. "I see," she said sullenly. "Did those Saiyans survive Namek's explosion?"

The elder nodded. "Yes. They saved our people from a great evil and managed to make it home."

Ethne perked up slightly at this information, though she was deeply confused about the Saiyans _saving_ a race. "Where are they now? Perhaps one of them can tell me about my friend."

The elder thought this over again. She seemed to be telling the truth and her intentions seemed good, but still the Namek didn't want to give away his friends' location without truly knowing this woman. Still, if anyone could handle themselves, it was Goku and Gohan. "They live on a planet called Earth."

Ethne smiled a pointed grin and took the Namek's free hand into hers. "Thank you. Really," she thanked, locking eyes with the elder and smiling.

All the Namekians smiled and waved good bye as she went to depart. "I hope you find your friend!" The elder called as she flew away. Ethne turned to her back and waved and smiled at the peaceful green men as their village quickly faded from view.

Rolling back over, she rocket towards her ship with a new determination. She was going to Earth.

x:x:x:x

 _The foxy hunter is headed to Earth, let's see what kind of trouble she stirs up._

 _If you are curious about Vegeta and Pomegra's side of the story, you know you are, you can read their side of the story in Destructive Games: Survivor (Pomegra). Last-Saiyan-Princess and I are doing a collaborative fanfic. You can find Pomegra's story under my favs._

 _Follow, fav, review! Come back soon for more! -Hel_

 _(A VixNMonkey collaboration)_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Frozen wind whipped and howled under a grey sky. No life stayed above ground long on this planet. Up here, among the jagged peaks and vast crevasses, no plants could grow. Far below, in the expansive cave system, was where native life dwelt.

A troup of Saiyans had just entered a large cave opening, greeted by warm, humid air. Ethne shook her head, caked ice falling from her hair and ears in chunks. The Saiyan armour had kept her slightly warm in the frigid cold. She rubbed her arms, warming herself as she mentally cursed the cold. The foxy female _hated_ cold.

Shaking the snow from her tail, she fell back in line as the rest of her troup did. They followed their captain down into the living labyrinth. Glowing worms crawled the moss covered walls, illuminating their way.

Ethne and Pomegra had recently graduated up in training to be able to join missions. They had hoped to be assigned to the same troup, but no such luck.

This was now her third mission, a quick retrieval mission. The goal was to obtain a flower that grew only in the dense underground jungles of Ninarja. It was said that brewing a tea from this flowers pedals could heal any wound. The Saiyan physicians wanted extracts from the plant to improve upon their healing pods.

The further down the troup went, the hotter and more humid it became. Finally, the closely packed tunnels opened into one of many enormous caverns. The ceiling was so high as to contain high trees and low clouds. Their feet had gone from hard moss covered stone to rich soil. Ethne's ears twitched as they picked up the chittering of small wildlife. As they moved along through the cavern, however, they picked up something larger. She moved toward the front of the line, earning glares from her more senior peers. Ignoring then, she made her way to the captain.

"Captain..." she began but was silenced when a hand from behind clamped over her mouth. The young fox whirled to glare at the large male behind her. He made a 'shhh' gesture. Ethne growled but fell back in line.

After traveling through the dense foliage for about an hour, the captain decided it was safe to stop for a while to hydrate the troups, the intense heat and humidity were weighing on them.

As Ethne drank from her canteen, her ears twitched, picking up the low noise again. She rose to her feet, ears turning towards the noise. The fox stalked passed the resting Saiyan troops towards the source of the noise. The troops disappeared behind the trees Ethne wove through. Parting a veil of leaves with a clawed hand, the fox's ears lay back.

A team of men dressed in black and covered in leaves were marching quietly towards the Saiyan troup. The small female backed away slowly then whirled to warn her comrades.

Ethne was stopped cold as she ran into something firm. Peering up at the figure towering overhead, glowing green eyes peered back. A slow, sharp smile spread across a long snout. "My my, what have we here?" A cold voice hissed from the hulking figure. The fox backed away to get a better look at the lizard-man. The little vixen barely came to the hip of this blue-grey being before her.  
"Thinking of warning the troops?" He taunted with a rasping laugh. Ethne matched his pace, stepping back as he stepped forward until her back was pressed against a tree. Golden eyes darted, searching for a quick escape to warn the others. "By the time you get to them, they'll already be dead," the lizard warned with a cold smirk.

The sly fox faked right but slid through scaly legs. He hissed as talons grabbed air. She whirled and sprinted towards the Saiyans, bounding off roots and trunks. Barely catching a glimpse of her captain, she felt a cool hand wrap around her lower leg. Talons dug into her calf. Ethne snarled and flipped forward, using the momentum to rip her foot free. Landing in a crouch, she immediatly sprung up with a high kick, connecting with his elongated jaw. The lizard hissed, stumbling as he was thrown off balance. Regaining his footing, he swiped at the vixen. She dodged only to be met with a large left hook that sent her flying. Ethne rotated in the air and came skidding to a halt, claws raking earth to slow her stop. Flipping long bright hair from her face, her ears perked up as they caught the sharp sounds of battle nearby.

The lizard chuckled. "Sounds like the fun has already started." Ethne growled and dodged a series of blows. Returning with some blows of her own, her wrist was snatched by a taloned hand. She pulled at it uselessly, he was just too far beyond her power. Green eyes flashed as he lifted her to his face, dangling by her wrist. Ethne winced as a long grey tongue flicked from his lips against her cheek. "Don't worry, foxy, I've got something special in mind for you."

×:×:×:×

Making the trip in her "classic" ship, Ethne arrived on Earth after nearly three months. She landed on a wide open area of land. The sun was bright and the sky was clear. A vast grassy plain stretched out to the horizon on all sides. A flock of chirping colorful birds flew overhead.

Ethne took a deep breath and held it happily in her lungs for a moment before slowly breathing out. The air was so fresh and clear here, a wonderful contrast to the stuffy artifical atmosphere or the dense, heavy, smog-ridden air of the overly populated urban planets that drew her clientele.

She drew in the earthy scent of dirt, warm rock, and sunbathed grass. It reminded her childhood home. The Trodaí lived in large homey burrows on a planet very similar to Earth.

The quiet hit her just as quickly as the smell. There was the low hum of a distant river, a steady and powerful sound. The grass rustled softly in the breeze and the high sweet songs of birds. The quiet was nearly deafening to one who was used to the loud noises of planet-wide cities or the roar of a ship. With her sensitive ears, there was constantly the low frequency hum of electrical current and liquid moving through plumbing. It gave her a constant mild headache that irritated her to no end. Save for her brief stop by Namek, she felt like this was the first time she could properly hear herself think since she had been taken by her employer.

Even if this turned out to be a dead end, this quiet scenery and air alone would make this a worthwhile trip.

Ethne felt the communicator clipped to her hip vibrate. She pulled it out, looked at caller and sighed heavily before answering.

"What is it, Rumron?" She snapped, holding the device to her pointed ear.

"Now is that any way to greet your superior?" A cold voice came from the other end.

"Now's not a good time. Just say what you have to say or get off my communicator."

A deep chuckle came through the receiver. "The boss was checking in on you. Wants to know what your doing in Greter's territory." She could practically hear his grey tongue dart out over the communicator.

Ethne's hand went to her throat and the black collar that resided there. It was rigged so that it could not be removed and with a tracking device. Her boss liked to keep track of his property.

"Just stopping by. I have a quick lead to follow up on then I'm out," she stated.

"And what lead is that?" the chilling voice of her boss's second in-command interrogated.

"No sharing information on an open job. Ever," her cocky smirk came out in her tone as she recited the lizard-man's own rule. She could hear Rumron growl in the other end. "You have three local days, then you're out," he warned just before the line went dead.

Ethne growled and cursed loudly. Snarling, she closed up her ship and took off into the air. The beautiful wild scenery calmed her fury as they sped passed below. If she could, she would have taken her time to see the stunning sights. But time was tight, she had to find the surviving Saiyans.

×:×:×:×

Watching the beautiful wilderness between small cities, small compared to the cities she was used to anyway, Ethne made her way across another continent. It was nearing the end of her first day and she hadn't found a single being that knew what a Saiyan was.

The sun was getting low as she landed in the middle of another city. Standing tall next to where she landed was a golden statue of a male with curly hair holding up two fingers with a triumphant look on his face.

Pulling out her communicator, she scanned the inscription on the statue and translated it into a script she knew. "World Champion Hercule Satan..." she read off her screen. "Hm, perhaps this Hercule Satan will know where the Saiyans are," Ethne mused aloud, taking off to find the World Champion.

It didn't take her long to find him. Wrapping her tail around her hips like a furry short skirt so as to not scare the locals, she asked for directions to Hercule Satan. It seemed everyone knew who he was and where he lived and they all absolutely loved him. Ethne was actually getting a little curious.  
She walked up to an enormous mansion a short while later and knocked on the large doors. One slowly opened to show a man who was most decidedly not the man from the statue. "May I help you?" He drawled.

"I am looking for Hercule Satan, the World Campion. I believe he can help me," she said innocently. She kept on her best face as Ethne could see he was about to say something dismissive.

"Let her in! Let her in!" A voice boomed from within the mansion. The man standing at the door closed his eyes slowly and sighed before turning aside to welcome her in. A man with a large head and larger hair in a suit greeted her with a grand pose and flashy smile. "Welcome to the home of the famous Mister Satan!"

Ethne eyed him curiously. This was definitely the guy from the statue... but he was a little strange. "Mister Satan..." she started.

Satan, who had already been looking over the little red haired cutie shook his hand. "Please, no need for formalities. Call me Satan... or Champ, if you prefer," he said most generously.

Ethne flashed a smile at him. "Satan, I was wondering if you would be able to help me," she said taking a step closer and looking up at him with big gold eyes.

"A-anything. Nothing's impossible for the Champ!" He started off stuttering and ended up as loud as ever.

"Well, you see, I've been looking everywhere for someone. Now I'm just hopelessly lost," she played at being damsel, he seemed the type to respond to playing hero.

"W-well, of course! I'll do anything I can to help. Can you tell me about your friend," he said eagerly. "Well, she's a little taller than me, dark red hair... and she's a Saiyan," Ethne said, watching Satan intensely.

"S-Saiyan?!" He sputtered, stumbling backword.

"Saiyan? What means Saiyan?" A high-pitched child-like voice came from a doorway. Ethne turned to see the source was a large, round, very pink creature with a confused look on its face.

"Boo?! What are you doing down here? I told you I'd have dinner ready in a couple minutes!" Satan pleaded.

"But me hungry now!" The pink thing stamped it's foot, cracking the floor. Satan scrambled over to Boo and frantically tried to calm him and coax him out of the room. It seemed to be working until they reached the door when Boo stopped in his path. "Wait. What means Saiyans?"

"I'll tell you later Boo!" Satan said in an urgent hush.

Boo stood his ground. "Satan tell Boo now!"

Ethne strode over to the pair, her tail unfurled and swaying behind her, a dangerous glint in her eye. "Yes, Satan tell Boo now," she purred ominously.

Satan made a face of sheer terror before he finally waved his hands in defeat. "Ok, ok! I know a couple of Saiyans. They're alien warriors, powerful guys! My daughter's father-in-law is one."

"Where do I find him?"

×:×:×:×

 _Will the foxy fighter find the Saiyans? Who knows lol. Find out next time! Go read Pomegra's sister chapter. Fav, follow, and REVIEW! We're dying to hear from you! Hope you enjoyed. -Hel_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

×:×:×:×

Stunning nebulae and breathtaking galaxies flashed by in a stunning light show, unnoticed by two passenger Saiyans as both were lost in thought. Goku didn't even register the gleeful tune his instructor and current taxi was whistling. Whis and Beerus had just assigned the destruction of a dead planet to himself and Vegeta. Goku was having difficulties with the 'why' part of the assignment. Surely both the deities know they were both plenty capable as far as power went. Vegeta had bragged about destroying planets often enough when they first met, and that was before he was capable of defeating Frieza. So why? What was the point? Why not leave it be or put it to use?

The sudden halt jolted the Saiyan from his thoughts and he looked down on what was to be his target. The dull planet was so shrouded in debris orbiting the planet's gravitational field it was impossible to tell what color it even was. It certainly seemed dead.

"Alright, this is the place. Ready your best attacks and let's see which of you have it in you to destroy it, oh ho hoho," the angel instructed gleefully. Goku hesitated and watched as Vegeta readied his stance. "Ve _ge_ ta...you're not really gonna do this…are ya?" He asked. Goku couldn't believe the other Saiyan didn't see anything... off about this. The prince just wanted to display his prowess and move on, he didn't care about the 'why'.

Whis gave a knowing smile and responded where Vegeta only grit his teeth. "Goku-sa, there is no reason to be so resistant. Go ahead and show Vegeta your full power." The teacher nodded encouragingly. Goku's expression remained forlorn. Vegeta may not care about the 'why', but he did.

Giving in, Son sighed and focused on the enormous lifeless orb in front of him. Exhaling loudly, he let his Ki build, his hair and eyes flashing to blue. Soon, he had caught up to the shorter Saiyan, who had readied his Final Flash. Electric blue energy swirled around his large hands as he pulled them into position. "Ka... me..."

The growing ball of energy flashed from the strain. Yellow lightning erupting from the air static.

"HA... ME..."

Just as he had finally settled his determination to destroy the planet, a large Ki suddenly spiked below. Goku's kamehameha wave flickered out at his side. He looked to Vegeta who had been stayed by the same energy below. Goku turned to Whis. The smile on his face told Goku he had known about this. "You said no one was down there!"

Looking back to Vegeta, they nodded simultaneously. He waited with two fingers on his forehead for Vegeta to fly over and place his hand on his shoulder before vanishing. They reappeared in the sickly, rotted parchment colored, clouds high about the source of the Ki below. Lowering themselves through the shroud, the Saiyans looked shocked at the grisly scene below.

A sea of rotting bodies undulated below, falling by the hundreds in time with a red pulsing of energy. In the eye of the storm were two figures. A small one wrapped around the throat of a large one.  
It was the small one that caught Goku's attention. It was definitely the source of the energy. And if there was any mistaking the Saiyan Ki it emitted, there was certainly no denying that yellow hair or the yellow monkey tail flailing behind the small female.

She even wore a severely battered version of Saiyan armour that reminded Goku of Vegeta's first arrival. He watched as the large male figure threw his head back into the face of the female, dropping her to the ground, her hair falling limp and crimson red in a halo around her. He looked to Vegeta, if anyone knew what a Saiyan easily doing here, he would.

"No. Fucking. Way," the taller heard the prince mutter under his breath.

Now Goku became even more curious. "Huh? You know them? That girl's a Saiyan, but that guy?" He nodded to the large figure who was now scooping up the Saiyan female. "I don't know what that is. He has a tail too, but-" he was cut off as Vegeta rocketed off.

Goku caught up and they came to a floating stop in front of the horrendously mutated figure now lugging the Saiyan female. "Eh, well who's this now?" The mutant snarled as he squinted at them. The creature looked like a Saiyan mixed with a lizard in the worst possible way. It's mismatched eyes widened with recognition and the being dropped the unconcious girl to the dirt with a _thud._

"M-my prince, is that really you? I wasn't sure at first because of the blue hair, but it is, isn't it?" He bowed his head to Vegeta before quickly righting himself as Goku looked on curiously.

Vegeta scowled at the misshapen mutation in front of him worth disgust. "What is going on here, commander? You look hideous," he smirked coldly.

"Why my prince, I have been given a great gift! That miserable mutt who brought us here, Muton,betrayed us all by taking our ship and fleeing the planet with a workable strain of the virus, but onlyafter he turned all our forces that survived the initial attack into the mutant you see here. Well, minus a few rebels who were slain trying to escape, of course," the creature said. He looked down to the female at his feet. "Some of our platoon survived the infection, but those guys are not as pretty or smart as me, heh heh heh." He swept his hand behind him, displaying the handful of barely recognizable Saiyans mixed in worth the predominately canine zombie-creatures.

"And the female there? Is that Pomegra?" Goku watched Vegeta carefully. It was clear he was familiar with both Saiyans.

The commander kicked at the limp female absent-mindedly with a twisted smirk on his face. With a sarcastic tone he spat, "I'm surprised you recognize her. I was just about to give her the same gift I received." Goku empathetically winced inwardly when he kicked the unconcious Saiyan with enough force to crack rib. Paragus chuckled darkly and Goku glared down at the creature below and lowered himself into a fighting stance.

Vegeta turned to his long time rival. "Kakkarot, get the girl to safety," he ordered then turned to the former Saiyan and in a blink held him captive by his throat and began to rise into the air.

Without stopping to think on the strangeness of Vegeta's request to protect a random bystander, Son swooped in and scooped up the small female. He was instantly struck by how light and frail she was was. The girl was severely malnourished. They rose out of the snarling, snapping, slobbering maws of the vicious zombified canine beings as they closed in, having previously been held at bay by their leader.

Goku twisted to change his trajectory and shoot out of the way of skirmish between the Super Saiyan God Prince and the formerly Saiyan.

Needless to say, it wasn't much of a contest. The mutant squirming in the Prince's inescapable grasp was simply no March for the blue Saiyan's might. "W-what _are_ you?!" Paragus choked out.  
"Hmph, I was going to ask you the same thing," Vegeta started. Goku could hear his glove as it tightened on the mutant's throat. "But then I realized something," he grinned wickedly, laying his palm flat on the large man's abdomin. "I do not care." Vegeta's grin broadened as the former Saiyan's face fell.

Goku felt his Ki grow before it erupted, opening up a jagged, gaping hole in the mutant. Son watched as Vegeta dropped the now lifeless body into the snarling pit of beasts below. The canine creatures sniffed the air, catching the scent of blood instantly, they descended on the fresh corpse and began tearing into it in a bloody spray.

His eyes remained on the visceral scene before Vegeta's gruff voice said, "Give me the girl."Confused by Vegeta's willingness to accept a burden, he handed her over then transmitted them up to Whis' location high above the planet.

Goku wasn't suprised by Whis' knowing smile while they showed up with an extra Saiyan. "Oh, you have found something, mmm?" The tall Saiyan eyed him suspiciously as he looked over the battered female.

Vegeta grunted, grabbing Goku's attention, "Take us to Earth. She needs medical attention now."

They were on the dimly lit lawn of Capsule Corp within a few minutes. Goku watched Vegeta dissappear inside with the girl. Staying outside, far away from the medical bay and the needles that were housed there, the suddenly sleepy Saiyan stretched his arms above his head and leaned against the round building, eyeing the horizon.

"Oh, since I am here, I should get Beerus-sama some sushi. Goku-sa, do let me know what happens with the girl." Whis smiled, winked, and tapped his staff as Goku began to speak. He was gone in a streak of light.

Goku sighed and kicked away from the wall. He was going to talk to the Whis about the girl being on the planet they were about to destroy but that would now have to wait. Sitting down on the lush lawn, he stretched out. With his arms behind his head and his feet crossed at his ankles, the dew quickly soaked into his gi. Not bothered by the damp, Goku was quickly sleeping soundly on the grass.

×:×:×:×

It was night by the time Ethne reached the mountain home of the Saiyan Satan had called 'Goku'. She had never heard of Goku before, the name sure didn't sound Saiyan. With a slender hand she knocked on the door and waited.

A small boy with black hair spiked wildly answered the door. "Hello? Who are you?" The boy asked, clearly only used to regulars coming around and not strangers.

"Hi there," she said sweetly, kneeling down to talk to the child. "I'm looking for someone named Goku."

"That's my daddy. He's not here right now," the boy said.

"Oh? Where might he be?" Ethne smiled.

The boy shrugged. "I think he's off training still. But maybe he went to see my friend's mom Bulma at Capsule Corp."

"Thank you, hun." Ethne stood and turned to leave but then thought better. "Say, would you happen to know what a Saiyan is?"

The boy became very excited. "I sure do! My daddy's a Saiyan which makes me and my big brother Saiyans too! My friend Trunks is a Saiyan too, like his dad."

"The same friend who I'm going to meet?"

"Yep, that's him!" He chirped.

Ethne tussled his hair gently. "Thanks, little Saiyan. You've been a big help," she said then stepped away to take off into the night sky.

As with the Satan home, the Capsule Corp house had been extraordinarily easy to locate. Ethne had flown at a slower pace so as to not raise her ki. With them being Saiyan, she figured they would have scouters and didn't want to set them off. Even so, she managed to get there in the early hours of the morning shortly before sunrise.

The dome-shaped dwelling stood lit by street lights and a few security lights. The lawn outside was damp with morning dew. Even in the heart of this city, it was still so much quieter than the ones she was used to.

Golden orbs glowed softly in the dim light, taking in the well manicured lawn. There were colorful flower beds, perfectly trimmed shrubs, small groves of large trees, and lush grass in-between. She took in a deep breath, savoring the crisp early air and the smell of the dew. Then something bitter invaded her nose. Blood. She could smell blood. Sniffing carefully in the direction it came from she quickly recognized it as _Saiyan_ blood.

Cloaking herself in shadows, Ethne bounded silently along the property's perimeter until she heard two male voices outside the house. Keeping to the shadows and masking her energy, she wove through the shrubbery and trees.

Rounding the back, she could see two figures standing outside. One was shorter with tall hair, his arms crossed and an intense look on his face, his clothing was smeared and spattered with blood. The other was taller with spiky hair that reminded her of the boy she just met and decided he must be Goku.

"...doesn't get mad we brought her here," the tall one mused. The shorter one scoffed. "I'm still suprised though. Of all the people we could have found on that planet, we find a Saiyan! And a girl at that. I've never met a girl Saiyan before," the one she thought was Goku chattered.

 _Girl Saiyan?!_ Ethne's mind raced at the possibility. Sure there had been thousands of female Saiyans that could have survived but maybe...

As she watched them, it became clear that neither of these males were injured, the blood most likely wasn't theirs. It was definitely Saiyan though so that left the female they had inside.

Sneaking up to the building, she began searching windows until she found what she was looking for. A sterile looking room with a version of a Saiyan healing pod inside. An Earth female with blue hair seemed to angrily check vitals and slam things around the lab as she worked on her patient.  
Looking closely at the pod, Ethne's amber eyes widened in shock. Even blurred through the glass and the blue liquid inside the pod, even with her face obscured by a breathing mask, even with her visible face scraped and swollen in places, Ethne knew. "Red?!" She gasped aloud to herself.

She put a hand to her mouth as she looked over her long lost friend's visibly battered and broken body. The Trodaí's mind instantly went to the blood on the two male's clothing and made an instant connection. She ground her teeth and her hands balled into fists, igniting into flames.

×:×:×:×

Goku paced absent-mindedly with his hands behind his head while Vegeta leaned against the wall with arms crossed. It was a quiet night and Goku was happy to be back on Earth, even under the circumstances. He liked it here, Earth was home. He was listening to the crickets chirp while he waited impatiently, both to hear news from Bulma and for the thing lurking to make an appearance. Goku had felt a small presence since Vegeta had woken him. It had an animalistic feel to it so he dismissed it at first.

Out of no where, a bright ball of flame came streaking from the roof. He barely jumped back in time to have it land burning at his feet. "Yikes! What was that?!" Goku yelped.

A streak of red came from the roof and landed with a burst of energy that knocked the unprepared Saiyan back. Stumbling backward Goku regained his footing in time to see a small figure and two flames.

When his eyes adjusted to the contrasting lighting, he saw a petite woman with black tipped hair, a bushy tail, and most importantly, flaming fists. She didn't seem very happy.

"What did you twisted monkeys do to her?!" The female roared, charging him in an uncharacteristic manner. Normally, she let opponents come to her, but right now she was driven by a blinding fury.

The Saiyan moved back as she moved forward, frantically blocking her strikes. "Having trouble with a little girl, Kakkarot?" Vegeta's taunting voice came from his same spot. He hadn't moved, watching half-interestedly as this female who came from no where set in on his rival.

The other male's voice went unnoticed to Ethne as she focused on the one before her. "What did you do to her, Saiyan?"

"Nothing! I don't know what you're talking about!" Goku insisted, blocking more strikes. The fire cracking around her petite fists burned brightly, leaving his forearms singed.

Ethne snarled, baring her fangs. "The female in the pod!" She roared. "What did you do to her?!"

Ethne let a column of flames loose on Goku. He scrambled out of the way just in time. "Whew, that was close!" He sighed. "I didn't do anything to her! We're trying to help her!" He insisted.

"Don't lie to me, Saiyan. And don't insult me like that, fight back!" She growled, throwing another warning shot. Ethne may not have been able to read Kis, but she could feel that this Saiyan held a great deal of power back and she, despite her situation, wanted to see it. Curiosity was ever her undoing.

"I'm not lying! Honest!" Goku pleaded before a determined look crossed his face. "But if it's a fight you want..." He launched himself at her but was easily dodged. Goku seemed a little startled at first that she was able to dodge so easily, but recovered quickly.

Ethne began to smirk as the Saiyan came at her with a new determination. She danced around and away from every hit. Goku was impressed with her speed and agility, she was far beyond his base form, that was for sure. A determined smile passed his lips at the new challenge. From the sidelines, Vegeta watched in suprise. _How can she be capable of evading Kakkarot so easily?_ He watched her flip and roll and dance her way around Kakkarot.

Goku had moved on from trying to hit her to trying to grab her. Ethne had her back to him, he went to strike to her left but at the last second wrapped his muscular arms around her tight midsection.  
"Gotcha!" He beamed triumphantly. Ethne chuckled and slid down, her arms dislocating with a couple loud cracks at will to slip easily out of his arms and through his legs. "You're a slippery one!" He complimented with a chuckle, having fun. She popped up behind him, her shoulders moving back into place as she reached out to tap his left shoulder and leapt to the right when he looked the wrong way.

"Really, Kakkarot, that's got to be the oldest trick in the book!" Vegeta criticized. "You're a Super Saiyan God and you're going to let some l _owly_ Trodaí humiliate you like this?"

Ethne skid to a hault and turned her attention to the shorter Saiyan. "Vegeta?"

"Oh, so the little fox remembers me. How touching," he said sarcastically.

Her tail bristled as she glared at the Saiyan Prince. For the sake of curiosity, Goku threw a punch at the back of her head while her focus was elsewhere. Before he realized she sidestepped, her hands were on his arm and she used his momentum to throw him forward, flipping him on his back.

Goku chuckled from his spot on the ground. Ethne looked at him confused. "What's wrong with this one?" She asked, panting slightly.

"Too much to explain," Vegeta said flatly.

"Aw c'mon, Vegeta. I was just having fun. She's tricky!" He beamed, getting up. Ethne gave the tall one a weird look before turning to the nuisance she was used to. "If you truly didn't hurt her... what happened to her? And where the hell did you find her?"

×:×:×:×

"I'll listen while you two talk but if I don't like what she has to say I'm killing you both," the fox growled, crossing her arms as she paced in front of a large couch inside the Capsule Corp house.

Goku waved his hands and smiled reassuringly. "It really isn't like that!"

"I'll reserve judgment until I speak to her," Ethne said evenly. The moody prince in the corner eyed the Trodaí he had long ago dismissed as dead before his mind wandered to the female in the healing pod.

Goku had insisted she come in and wait to see her friend, trying to calm the fiery vixen. The tall male was unusually friendly for a Saiyan and seemed genuinely concerned with the whole situation. Ethne found it slightly interesting. She had grown up around Saiyans, made a couple friends with them, even shared a sister-like bond with one. But even her friend Pomegra wouldn't have tried to placate a potential enemy.

"Don't flatter yourself," Vegeta scoffed at her threats. "A Trodaí could never hope to compete with a Saiyan, let alone hope to kill one that has reached levels you couldn't even imagine."

"Vegeta..." Goku pleaded, trying to keep the peace.

Ethne whirled on the shorter Saiyan that had been a thorn in her side since childhood. "Really? I seem to recall pinning your ass on more than one occasion," she snarled through a smirk, stalking towards the Saiyan.

"Hmph, childhood flukes," he dismissed. "You couldn't lay a finger on me now."

An orange-red blur shot forward and jabbed her finger into his chest. "Don't test me, Veggie," she snarled, using the nickname he had loathed her using as kids.

Vegeta grabbed her wrist and pulled her in to get in her face. "Touch me again..." he began to warn dangerously, squeezing her wrist as she glared up at him.

The angry blue haired Earth female Ethne had seen through the window walked in, glaring into a chart, not bothering to look up to address the Saiyans. "Alright. I've got your _friend_ all set up and her vitals are improv..." she began bitterly before blue eyes found the foxy cutie in tight pants. _"Really?!_ Oh, this is just _great!_ You know you really are something Vegeta! Brining in _one_ little tart isn't bad enough, now you got this one all over you!"

Ethne yanked her hand away and set her sights on the bluenette. "Tart? If that's some sort of Earthling insult you are using on my friend, woman..." Ethne growled, hands igniting to illustrate her point as she stalked towards the suddenly terrified yet still enraged woman.

Ethne felt a large hand on her shoulder. "Maybe we can wait outside," suggested Goku who was on the other end of the hand.

Snarling, she shrugged off his hand. "Hands off, Saiyan," she snapped. She glared one last time at the Earthling before turning on her heal and heading out the nearest door. She had decided he might have a point, it probably wasn't best to attack or further insult the being fixing up her friend.

Goku rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly at Bulma before heading out to keep an eye on the fox. When he first stepped out into the morning light, he was greeted by an empty lawn. Could she have left? Maybe, he couldn't seem to sense her anywhere. He searched further out for her Ki. Nothing. _She's pretty good at keeping her Ki suppressed,_ he thought then decided she was probably sticking close by.

Ethne lounged on a tree branch, leaning her back against the trunk. She could see into Pomegra's window from her perch, but right now her eyes were closed as she soaked up the speckles of sun that came through the leaves. Once more, Ethne drank in the smells and the quiet. She liked this planet. Her long, fluffy tail hung down from the branch, swaying lazily.

"Oh! There you are," Goku's voice came from below. He had been walking passed and noticed her bright tail. "What are you doing up there?"

"I _was_ enjoying the quiet," Ethne sighed, not bothering to open her eyes. She felt her branch jiggle then slope slightly. Cracking open one golden orb, she saw Goku had invited himself up and sat on the branch near her feet. "You're not going away, are you?" She asked flatly, opening both eyes to glare. He flashed her a goofy grin that told her he wasn't going anywhere. Ethne scooted herself up to a sitting position.

"You never told me your name," he pointed out.

Ethne was about to quip something back about it not being necessary or to go ask Vegeta but decided maybe she should play nice for a while. There was a change in Vegeta's energy that she couldn't place, she sensed the same from this Saiyan and it made her leary. Ethne briefly wished for one of those scouter devices Saiyans used to tell an individuals power. She couldn't sense power levels or Ki but she never had any interest in using one because she never needed one. With her fox senses, she was always able to get a basic sense of a being or track them down easily. Right now she was rather curious about this Saiyan and Vegeta's change.

"Ethne," she answered.

"I'm Goku," he introduced with a smile.

"So I gathered," she said flatly. She eyed the smiling Saiyan sitting on the branch. "You're not very... _Saiyan,_ are you?" Ethne mused aloud.

Goku looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

A small, amused smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Never mind."

"So... you wanna spar?" He asked hopefully.

Ethne looked at him in confusion. "... Why?"

He shrugged. "We were just getting started last night. I wanna fight you again!"

Ethne giggled at his eager attitude. "Why do you want to fight me?" He was certainly different from anyone she had come across in her vast travels.

"It was fun! You're tricky. C'mon, please!" Goku pleaded. Ethne eyed the strange Saiyan. Sure, they loved to fight, but had never seen a Saiyan beg for battle. This one seemed to have an excitement and love for fighting rather than a lust for it. She looked over to the window, her still unconcious though significantly improved friend floating in the pod, then back to the fidgety eager Saiyan.

Ethne rolled her eyes. "Guess I have nothing better to do... Alright, I'll take you down again," she gave in, wanting to know more about his power.

"Yosh!" Goku beamed victoriously. "But I won't be so easy to take down this time!" He called, jumping off the branch.

"We'll see," she said coyly, landing silently on the lawn below. She watched Goku crouch into his ready position. When it became apparent he was waiting for her to do something similar, she curved a finger to summon him.

Goku charged, typical Saiyan opening, she side stepped and ducked when he threw an elbow back. She spun and ducked and flipped away from every blow. He didn't fight like other Saiyans. Sure there was similar attitude to his style, straight forward, powerful approach, but his moves were different. She wondered if he had been trained as a Saiyan at all.

Goku hadn't landed a single blow, but after a while, he got a little frustrated for another reason. "Hey, Et? Could you maybe fight back? It isn't as much fun if you don't."

Ethne raised a brow. He had been holding back, waiting for her to get serious. "Only if you... Did you just call me Et?" Goku just smiled in response, Ethne rolled her eyes. She'd deal with that later. "Only if you put in some effort. I can tell you're holding back," she said, flexing her claws and igniting her hands.

With a determined smirk, he nodded. Ethne started to charge but instead fell back and sent a blast of flame. Goku narrowly dodged then came back with a blast of his own. Ethne crossed her arms and absorbed the blast. She looked behind her to make sure the building housing her friend was unharmed. Maybe they should take this to the air. Rising into the sky, they matched eachother's pace.

Ethne launched forward and spun to aim a foot at Goku's head. He caught her ankle. Ethne blocked a blow from his free hand and ducked in close. She brought her other leg up to his head. Squeezing his neck in her thifhs, she spun, flipping and temporarily disorienting him. Ethne shot forward and brought her legs forward at the last second to spring off his chest.

Goku plummeted for a moment before catching himself midair. "You're still holding back, Saiyan," the fox called.

As he floated back up to her level, a satisfied smirk crossed Goku's face before his stance changed. Then, in an instant, so did he. His eyes were blue and his hair was now golden. A yellow aura seemed to swirl about him. Ethne sat shell-shocked for a moment. _What the fuck is..._ Her thoughts were cut short as he was suddenly in front of her, landing a blow to her abdomin that sent her crashing into the ground.

Ethne pulled herself out of the small crater and looked up at the glowing Saiyan. Her hair, shaggy from her crash, hung in her face. A slow smile curved her lips. "Not bad," she commented. The fox sprung up from a crouch and shot towards the Saiyan. Just when it looked like she was going throw a punch to his abdomin, she appeared behind him with an elbow to his back.

Goku took the blow but quickly recovered and rolled over to counter with a blast. Ethne dodged then leapt in close. Blocking a series of her rapid blows, Goku came back with some of his own. They went toe to toe for a while. With determined eyes and a smiling face, he came at her as she flipped and dodged.

Locking in a grapple, they stared eachother down. "You're good," Goku complemented.

"I know," she flashed a fanged grin. "You're not too bad yourself." The Saiyan smirked and chuckled in self-satisfaction. They sprang apart and Goku shot a series of blasts at her. Ethne blocked some and dodged others. She shot in close, striking at the Saiyan. He crossed his arms to block. The fox sprang away before he countered. "Is that the best you've got?" Ethne goaded.

Goku smirked at the challenge and crouched, putting the balls of his hands together. "Ka...Me..." A ball of energy was growing in his hands. "Ha...Me..." _Shit._ Ethne cursed and braced herself for the impact. "HA!" Goku threw the huge energy beam. The force of the impact was intense. She struggled to hold it back and when it finally exploded against her arms, she was thrown to the ground. This crater ended up being larger. Goku lowered himself to the ground to check on the female. As the smoke cleared, Ethne picked herself up out of the crater and flopped down on the grass beside it. She raised the back of her hand to her lip and pulled it away to see blood.

The vixen began to laugh. Goku moved in curiously. "The last being who was able to draw blood on me, is floating in that tank upstairs," Ethne jerked a thumb up towards the window.

Goku smiled, watching her wipe the sweat from her brow. His face turned to confusion. "What's that?"

Ethne looked down to see he was pointing at a tear shaped stone hanging on a chain around her neck that pulsated a blood red. She immediatly wrapped her hand around the stone. "That's, um..." Ethne cut herself off when the stone began to glow brightly.

At the same time, Goku felt a Ki flare in the Capsule Corp house. His head shot in the direction it was coming from. "Red," she said under her breath. Both took off at top speed to get inside the house.

×:×:×:×

 _Seems like Ethne and Goku were having fun but what's going on in the Capsule Corp house?_

 _Remember to catch up on Pomegra's side of the story. Go to my favs and click on Destructive Games: Survivor (Pomegra)._

 _Loving the favs, follows, and reviews! Keep them up, I love hearing from you!_

 _Hope you enjoyed the chapter._

 _-Hel_

 _(A VixNMonkee Collaboration)_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

×:×:×:×

Blasting through the halls of Capsule Corp, Ethne had started off in the lead but was now sticking close to Goku's heals as she quickly realized his knowledge of the building would get her through to Pomegra quicker. She hadn't felt the surge of Ki the way Goku had, but the way the stone around her neck glowed so severely told her.

There had been a great deal of times the stone had surged on the past. Ethne or Pomegra always came running at the harsh light that meant the other was under duress. But ever since they had become separated, the bright glow had served a taunt, a stable to the heart to remind the fox her closest friend and ally was in trouble and she could do nothing but wait to see if the light diminished or if it returned to a soft pulse. _This_ time, Ethne was nearby, and she was ready.

Goku screeched to a halt in front of what was clearly a blast zone and the bluenette Earthling female looking singed and frantic. Her words were nothing but a distant muffled noise to the fox as her ears rotated, finding the low pitched hum of air being tore. Someone, no, _two_ someone's, we're flying off at a rapid pace. Not waiting or caring to see what the tall Saiyan was doing, Ethne took off through a convenient, and still crumbling, hole in the ceiling.

The quick Trodaí was catching up quickly, golden eyes locking on two specks in the distance. Goku caught up to her easily enough, which the fox decided to contemplate on later, after saying some dismissive and apologetic words to Bumla.

The fox came out of her speed with a thunderous cracks when she saw the two figures had come to a stop. There, for the first time in thirty years, floated Pomegra. Her dark red hair was soaked, still dripping the blue liquid Ethne had seen her submerged in, clinging to her face and shoulders. The female Saiyan dripped crimson from her palms and knees, gilden eyes catching the shine of glass in the fresh cuts. Her cobalt eyes stared wide eyed and disbelieving back at her, seeing her vixen companion scraped up and bleeding from the lip, her long black tipped hair hanging shaggy and messed from her sparring match with Goku and her frantic flight just now.

The two females floated towards eachother slowly, Pomegra still apprehensive and out of sorts, wondering if this was all some famine induced hallucination. The friends looked eachother over, both having blossomed from teens to women but still recognizing one another instantly. Both assessed that the other was a little scraped up but otherwise fine.

"Is that _really_ you, Vixen?" The red-headed Saiyan asked in disbelief, tenatively reaching out a hand as though trying to touch a mirage.

Ethne lay her ears flat as she felt her eyes misting up. "Red," She murmered, and threw her arms around her long lost friend. Ethne clutched Pomegra to her tightly as her friend returned the eager embrace. The fox's face was veiled by her friend's crimson hair, she wasn't about to let these Saiyans see her shed tears.

Vegeta looked on with arms crossed tightly over his bare chest, somewhere between bored and irritated with the situation. Goku watched with a smile, the sweet Saiyan thinking of his own close friends.

Quickly recovering, the Trodaí pulled away and held her friend at arm's length, examining her with a smile. She let out a small contented sigh. "Oh, little Red, what did you get yourself into."

The female Saiyan smiled back, still weighing in on the reality of the situation. "I could ask the same about you! Is that a collar?" Pomegra's eyes narrowed curiously at the black band around the fox's throat.

Ethne reached up to touch her collar self-consciously when the loud vibration of her communicator went off. She pulled it out and looked at it with disdain. "Fuck," she hissed. "I'll be right back."Muttering a string of curses that made Goku's eyes widen and Vegeta raise a brow, the Trodaí began to float off. Pausing next to Vegeta, the vixen gave him an obvious once-over. The Saiyan Prince was in only black shorts and his hair hung wet. "Not bad, Veggie," the fox said with a wink and a fanged smirk before flying off with a chuckle. Ethne had always alternated between being a flat out pain and being a shameless flirt with the Prince, anything to pissed him off.

Vegeta scoffed at her retreating form, "Vulgar Trodaí," he snarled.

"Ve-Vegeta?!" Ethne's pointed ears picked up as they disappeared behind her. She giggled at her friend's suprise and hoping a familiar face would help her cope until Ethne could return to look after her. Not that Pomegra really _needed_ looking after, Ethne was just fiercely protective of her.

Deciding on a spot outside under a tree, the fox looked down at the buzzing device with disdain. This call really couldn't come at a worse time, but not answering would raise suspicions.

"I swear, Rumron, if this isn't important, I'm going to shove your communicator up your..."

"What are you still doing in Greter's territory?" Her superior interrupted in his cold hissing tone.

"You gave me three local days," she stated irritably.

"You said it'd be quick," he countered.

"Since I'm in Greter's territory, as you love to remind me, I thought I would make less waves if I went about this quiet. U _nfortunately,_ quiet takes a little longer. Not that you would know anything about that," the female snarled.

Brief silence preceeded his cold voice, "Greter is temporarily out of commission. Since you insist on poking around in his territory, you may as well do a job while you're down there."

Ethne pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. _You've got to be fucking kidding me,* s_ he thought with a quiet sigh. "What's the job?" Tail twitching in irritation, she listened to her instructions in silence. "Consider it done," she hung up the communicator and clipped it back in place.

With only a day and a half alloted to her, she didnt have much time left. The time it would take to travel there and back alone... A clawed hand reached up to touch her collar, a thick, black, seamless band around her throat. It was wired to explode if tampered with and contained a tracking device. She thought maybe if she could get a blade between her neck and the collar, she might be able to cut through and sever the wires that powered the explosives before reaching the ones that triggered it. The only problem was cutting the collar without cutting up her neck and the vital arteries that resided there.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Goku's voice, "Is that thing bugging you?"

Ethne realized she was still fiddling with her collar. "It... itches," she lied, dropping her hand, the fox didn't feel like explaining herself. "Why don't you just take it off?" He asked, stepping in close and bending over to look at the black band.

Ethne instinctively leaned away. "I can't," her voice was stern.

Goku looked up from her neck to her eyes, he was way too close but the Saiyan didn't seem to notice. Ethne's ears lay back at his proximity. "Do you want some help?"

Gold eyes watched him suspiciously. "Why?"

Goku scratched his head, still way too close. "'Why?'"

Ethne put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. "Why are you asking to help?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Just seems like you could use some help."

She stared at him a moment. Ethne wasn't used to people offering help, especially once they knew she was dangerous. It usually took some acting and manipulation to gain a local's trust. This Saiyan offered help freely without a second's hesitation. "You're a strange one," Ethne muttered. She needed to get going but she didn't want to up and leave Pomegra just after she finally found her. Agitated at her situation, the vixen took out her frustration on the tall Saiyan in a short snapping tone. "I've got something I need to do on a nearby planet. You want to help? Tell Red I'll be back tomorrow night." The fox took off before Goku had time to respond.

×:×:×:×

By that night, Ethne had reached the dismal planet one star system over that her target resided on. The sky was a squirming mass of dark clouds, the ground was barren, and the buildings were crumbling ruins.

Stalking silently through rumble, the fox sniffed the air and pointed ears stayed perked for any sound. Coming across a purple streak on what remained of a wall. She placed her finger tips to it and rubbed them together. Still wet. She sniffed her fingers, blood from a local, then followed the scent to a nearby collapsed building.

Peering inside, she saw a being with a gargoyle like appearance. Ethne ducked away, messing up her hair and rubbing herself with dirt. She slid away only to come back at at running pace, panting and looking over her shoulder.

Ethne came barreling into the crumpled building and crashed into the startled being. She leapt up and scrambled away, looking around wildly. Scrambling to the window, she peered out and ducked back down in a paranoid manner.

"Are you Frin?" She asked panting.

He nodded, still startled and baffled by the sudden presence. "Who...?"

"Where is it?" Ethne snapped hurriedly.

"How did you kn...?"

"We've got to get out of here, now! Hurry and grab it!" She pleaded urgently. The being nodded hesitantly but scuttled off deeper into the rubble. He emerged with a black velvet bag and held it out to show her. "Is this all of them?" She asked in a worried frenzy.

"Y-yes," the gargoyle stuttered.

Like a switch, Ethne's demeanor completely flipped from hurried and terrified to calm and cold. "Good," she flashed a fang in a smirk. Ethne snatched the bag from his hand and blasted him through the chest with a fire ball, leaving his corpse to drop with a smoldering hole to the ground. It always amazed her how easily people folded when they thought there was a present and imminent threat.

Tossing the bag playfully into the air and catching it, she turned on her heal and strode out of the wreckage. Now all she had to do was drop these off two worlds over and she could head back to Earth.

After dropping off the payload and receiving a tidy sum for her services, Ethne stretched out on her cot. She absentmindedly rocked back and forth, fingering her collar and thinking about her boss.  
Rumron, a bird-like being, had managed to capture her when she was on a mission for the Saiyans when she was a young teen. He had brought her to his boss, Sitgard, who quickly claimed her as his own. The collar was laced around her neck and that was that. She had been serving under him ever since, pulling jobs and giving him a generous portion of her profits. Sitgard was not only powerful, but he had an entire army of talented killers at his disposal. Ethne longed for freedom, seeing her friend alive again rekindled the fire that had been forcibly snuffed out so long ago. She had to get her collar off.

Rising to her feet with a new determination, Ethne rummaged around the small ship. Finally finding what she was looking for, a long serrated knife, she headed into the bathroom. Positioning herself in front of the mirror, Ethne slid the blade carefully between the durable, leather-like material and her soft flesh. She winced as she cut herself sliding it into position.

Trying different angles, she eventually realized she wasn't going to get this done without some serious injury. Ethne looked up and met her own eyes in the mirror. She thought back to the torture she had endured when she was first taken and that still continued when Rumron or Sitgard felt she hadn't lived up to their standards. Not to mention what Sitgard liked to do to her when he was bored... No, she would not longer be their plaything, a lapdog to fetch and to come when called, and she sure as fuck wasn't returning to his bed.

Gritting her teeth, she began sawing away at the collar, each cut from the double edged blade slicing into her throat. Ethne briefly considered finding another knife but this was the only blade that was serrated or this long that she had. Blood trickled down her hand and ran down her arm in red riverlets.

By the time she made it through the dense material to reach the wires, she was feeling lightheaded from blood loss. The rapidly weakening fox barely had the strength left to life her arm. A final shaky cut and a strong shock ran through her when the wires severed, jolting her knife fell from her hand into the bloody sink with a wet clatter. Ethne's hands drops limply to the counter and she steadied herself shakily for a moment, panting hoarsely and dripping sweat. With severe tunnel vision setting in, the female ignited a slender hand and took a deep breath in preparation before pressing her flaming palm to her neck. Ethne's teeth ground as everything lit up bright white behind her eyes from the pain. With a sickening sizzle, the wound was carterized.

Ethne stumbled across the tiny ship, blood and sweat dripping from her pallid, quivering form, over to her cot and collapsed there. With one hand up to the elbow caked in already drying blood and the other loosely holding the remnants of her collar, the fox let out a deep sigh. The left side of her neck was now covered in a raw, blistering, jagged wound. Staring blindly up at the ceiling, she let the blankness overtake her.

×:×:×:×

A reptilian being slammed his fists on the panel before him. The room around him was dark, save for the lights flickering on the buttons and screens.

A grey tongue flicked irritably from his elongated snout. His normally blue-grey scales glowed orange in the electric light. Talon fingers tapped buttons rapidly, trying to bring back a dead signal.  
Rumron hissed in aggitation. It wasn't possible. There was just simply no way to loose her signal in that part of space. Sometimes black holes or severe electrical storms could interfere but there weren't any near where Ethne's last point of transmission was.

He couldn't loose the boss' favorite toy. A Saiyan trained Trodaí hunter, where the hell would he find anything close to replace that?! Not to mention all the time they had put into training her, the clientele she drew, and the vixen had always been Sitgard's favorite in his harem. The only option he had was to hunt her down. He'd send one of his hunters to where he lost her signal.

Rumron had to find her before the boss became aware of her sudden and inexplicable disappearance. He was going to hunt down the little fox even if it took every hunter at his disposal.

×:×:×:×

 _Ethne is now free... or is she? And the friends have been reunited!_

 _Loving all the favs and follows. Looking forward to seeing some reviews!_

 _Don't forget to go check Pomegra's side of the story! Trust me, they're better together!_

 _Hope you enjoyed the latest chapterWe'll be back with more soon!_

 _-Hel_

 _(A VixNMonkey story)_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

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 _Fuck..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _What the fuck was_ I _thinking..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _.._

 _Ugh, that light... it's so fucking bright..._  
 _A_ hand caked in blood clumsily slapped at the light panel until the skull splitting lights overhead were considerably dimmed.

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 _Just let me die..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _Ethne was back on Vegeta-sai,_ a _young fox of twelve. The little vixen was curled up on the cold stone floor of the dungeons mid-way through_ a _beating. Two large, armoured, male Saiyans were kicking the downed kit._

 _A small Vegeta, smirking broadly, halted the much larger underlings with_ a _simple gesture. The soldiers snapped to attention._ A _clear display of power but the fox_ was unaffected. _She knew the drill. She recieved this punishment often enough for her little pranks or when she let her attitude go too far with the Prince. This time she had spent the day sneaking the entire royal herd of cattle into the Prince's quarters._

 _Ethne smirked to herself, lip split, swollen, and bleeding, eyes purple and puffy, ribs cracked, breathing erratic, sweating and shaking, thinking of the furious look on the Prince's usually smug face when he found out._ Worth it.

 _"Had enough?" Young Vegeta asked coldly._

 _Ethne chuckled darkly and pushed herself shakily up onto her hands and knees. "You can do better," she panted and glared up at him with golden eyes._

 _The Saiyan's face went from_ a _smirk to_ a _scowl. Reaching out_ a _gloved hand he grabbed_ a _fistful of her hair, pulling her wincing to her feet. He leaned in close to glare at her eye to swollen eye. "You_ will _learn respect for your superiors, Trodaí," Vegeta growled._

 _The juvenile fox glared defiantly back at the Prince. "Fuck you," she snarled with_ a _smirk then spat in his face._

 _The young Saiyan threw her to the floor and blasted her with an energy ball right to the abdomin. Ethne coughed out_ a _spray of blood. She could just make out, "Hmph, get her to_ a _healing pod," before blacking out._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

Shuffling, stumbling footsteps accompanied by labored breathing.

 _Thud_

A white faced Ethne fell to her hands and knees. Her blurry eyes tried to focus on the clawed hands covered in dried blood before her.

Quickly clamping one reddened hand to her mouth she tried to stem the wave of nausea that the intense pain was causing.

No such luck. With violent heaving noises, the Trodaí's stomach contents along with a great deal of blood was forcibly vomited onto the floor. The gastric fluids splashed as it hit the tile, splattering her hands and making for a much larger mess.

Trembling and sweating from the exertion up-chucking had placed on her weakened and fragile body, Ethne collapsed to the side and rolled onto her back, not giving one shit that her hair was soaking in her own juices and returned to the black void.

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...

 _Ethne was back on Rumron's ship,_ a _young adult. She was strung up by her wrists with chains in the holding cells. Golden eyes stared at nothing, dead to the series of blows she was receiving._

 _It had been three years since she had been captured. They had begun to train her as_ a _hunter but she was still defiant and resistant to their commands. As_ a _result, she wound up here often._

 _The large reptilian male paused his attack. "Had enough?" He hissed with_ a _smirk._

 _Ethne coughed out_ a _laugh. "You can do better."_

 _A grey forked tongue flicked out in aggitation before_ a _taloned hand snapped out and grabbed_ a _fistful of hair. He pulled her up to his eye level, close_ to his face. _Ethne could feel the hot air he exhaled, her nose overwhelmed by the stench of his breath. "You_ will _learn respect for your superiors," he hissed._

 _Ethne smirked. "Better men than you have tried."_

 _Reptilian eyes narrowed at her as_ a _dangerous smirk curled Rumron's snout._ " _I_ will _break you."_

 _"Fuck you," she snarled then spat in his face._

 _Rumron reached up_ a _long talon and wiped the saliva from his face casually then leaned in even closer. "That comes later, foxy," he spoke, his long grey tongue ran along her neck. Ethne shivered involuntarily as Rumron's laugh boomed and echoed in the cell around them._

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 _Fuck_

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×:×:×:×

Ethne had spent the entirety of her return trip to Earth in a pain and blood loss induced haze. Honestly, she couldn't remember any of it. It wasn't until she dragged her carcass to the sink for some water that she noticed the blistering, raw wound that covered half her neck and remembered what had happened.

Making her way to the hatch, she opened it and was greeted by a rush of sweet night air. Bare feet stepped shakily out into knee-high lush grass.

Autopilot had landed her in a clearing on a mountain. She could hear a gentle water flow to her left and unsteadily made her way in that direction. Her feet were weights, her legs, string, and they dragged her rag doll body over to the edge of a wide stream.

The frail woman in the stream was unrecognizable for a moment. Her face was paler than the moon, practically blue in the soft light. Her eyes were sunken in and dark, her hair was matted and plastered to the side of her face with dried blood.

The trembling female dipped her hands into the gentle stream. Ethne closed her eyes, the cool water felt so good on her fevered hands. So good. So cool and inviting...

 _Splash_

The weakened fox sputtered to the surface, having zoned out enough that in her haze she didn't notice the stream had rushed up to meet her. Slender hands clawed the soft earth that lined the river bank, dragging her limp form out of the water just enough to collapse on the shore. Her torso in the mud, her hips and legs in the river, her head on the damp grass. Ethne lay there panting.

 _Fuck,_ she thought hopelessly. The fox could feel the gentle current tug at her feet and sleep tug at her eyes. She didn't have the strength to move anymore but if she fell asleep here, the current would pull her under. Pressing shaking hands into the mud, she tried to push herself up only to flop back down with a wet _thud._

Her vision was blurring, the edges fading. Her eyes blinked slowly, trying desperately to stay open. Just before the blackness took her, she saw a shadow in the trees.

×:×:×:×

Goku had been stretched out on a cliff, staring up at the stars absent-mindedly. Chi Chi had kept the house and Goku hadn't been on Earth long enough to find our build a place of his own yet having been at Beerus'.

Everyone had offered him a spare room or a couch, but Goku wanted to stick near Mount Paoz. It had always been home to him and now wasn't any different. He was content to sleep under the stars for a while, he'd worry about a place to live later.

The sleepy Saiyan sat up as a bright light streaked overhead. Dark eyes watched it curiously as it landed a few mountains over. Feeling out with his Ki, he relaxed as he recognized the animalistic energy but his brow furrowed at the low-burning, flickering Ki.

Getting to his feet, the Saiyan sprang off the cliff. In a few quick bounds off boulders and over revenes, he had found the Trodaí's junker ship. Soft splashing and a sloppy plop noise drew his attention. In the low light he could see a small figure struggling to pull themselves up onto the shore but was apparently to weak to do so.

From the Ki he knew instantly it was Ethne, visually he wouldn't have been able to tell. Her ears were limp, her vibrant hair was dulled, caked in mud and blood. The foxes small hands and arms were coated in wet earth.

Goku watched as she flopped back down, unconcious. The subtle current was already pulling her back into the steam. The tall Saiyan leapt across the cleaning, landing with a splash knee-deep in the cool stream. Scooping up the limp female, he carried her out of the water.

When her head rolled limply back he saw the life-threatening wound on her neck. The edges were jagged and slits jutted out from various angles. The center was a long, blistering burn, Goku could only assume the fiery vixen had carterized something more servere.

The door to the ship was still open, a light glowing from the doorway. Son carried the female inside, figuring that would be the best place for her, but froze when he stepped inside. The small ship consisted of one circular room with one "corner" walled off for a bathroom. The interior looked like something from a horror movie with blood spattered and dripped on the floor. Bloody handprints decorated the bathroom door, the cot, edges of counters and on the walls, wherever she had placed her hands for support in her pain-induced stupor. There was a large spattered puddle of something dark red and chunky. The stench inside told him it was vomit. Looking over at the bloody cot he realized he couldn't set her in here.

Heading back out into the night, the Saiyan opted for his cliff. Laying the petite female on a patch of moss, he set about gathering some supplies.

Before long, Goku was able to clean her neck and cover it in a paste made from plants. He was gingerly wiping off her face with a damp cloth when golden eyes shot open and a slender hand shot up to grab his wrist, claws digging in.

The Saiyan remained unphased from the pain in his wrist. He put a large hand over the one that gripped his wrist as the fox's eyes darted around wildly. "Et." Her head snapped towards his. "It's ok," Goku said softly.

"S-Saiyan?" Ethne asked uncertain. Goku nodded. The foxes muscles visibly relaxed. "I think... I cut a little... too..." her weak words were snuffed out as she lost consciousness again. Son looked the female over carefully. Her neck seemed to be her only wound, carterizing the deep cuts probably saved her life. With it cleaned and with the paste he put on it, it should heal up in no time but it was going to leave one hell of a scar.

It was a warm night but Ethne shivered, her blood loss preventing her from maintaining her body temperature. Goku pulled off his orange gi top and lay it over the female. A small smile was brought to his face as hers relaxed from its contorted state to peaceful slumber.

×:×:×:×

Ethne woke the next morning just as the sun began to peer over the horizon. She sat up and stared curiously at the orange garment that had been draped over her. She held it up to her nose and sniffed it, the Saiyan's masculine scent was all over it. The fox lingered, enjoying his smell for a moment before snapping to her senses and letting the shirt fall from her hand.

She reached up and gingerly touched her wound. The fox winced, it was terribly tender and when she pulled her hand away, it was covered in something sticky.

"I patched you up best I could but you really did a number on yourself." Ethne's head snapped around to see Goku watching her from his spot next to a boulder he had been leaning against as he slept.

"Patched me up?" She asked, still a little out of it.

"I use that stuff all the time. It works great," he said, talking about the paste he had made. Ethne's eyes went to her lap where the shirt still lay in an orange puddle. The situation finally fully dawned on her. Her collar, she had cut it off and left herself in a sorry state. The Saiyan must have found her and fixed her up. But... _why?_

Why did he help her? He could have just pulled her out of the water or even just have left her to her own devices. But he hadn't. He fished her out, brought her here, cleaned her up, and made a salve for her injury. He even covered her with his shirt. The fox fingered the soft orange material for a moment in thought.

Stiffly, Ethne rose to her feet. Goku jumped up to his and reached for her, about to protest but she held a hand up to stay him. When she was fully erect, she held the shirt out to the spiky haired man. "Thank you."

Goku accepted the article of clothing with a nod. "You sure you should be standing?"

Ethne flashed a smirk that was still a weak imitation of her usual one. "I've had worse." She turned at looked to the sunrise as colors flooded the sky. "Think I'll clean up then go check in with Red. Which direction was that round building?"

"You should learn how to sense Kis, it makes it a lot easier to find people. Capsule Corp is that way," he pointed. "I can show you the way."

Ethne though about it for a minute. She was unsure how to act around the Saiyan after his unrequited kindness and didn't exactly want to be around him right now, but considering she didn't know where on Earth she was or where the tiny city that "Capsule Corp" place resided in was in relation to her current location. Finally, she relented, "Alright, fine. Thanks."

×:×:×:×

They arrived at Capsule Corp shortly after sunrise. Goku pressed a button by the door then waited. A short while later, there was static then the pissed off voice of that Earthling female. "What is it?!" Bulma snarled at the early morning intrusion.

"Hey, Bulma," Goku chirped, unphased by her angry tone.

"Oh. Hey, Goku," she responded in a slightly less irritable tone. "What brings you so early?"

"I brought Et to check on her friend." There was a sigh from the other end before now static and a _click._ Goku entered and led the Trodaí through the long halls towards where he felt the female Saiyan's Ki. "She's in here, but I think she's sleeping."

Ethne ignored him and cracked the door. Sure enough, Red was inside, still asleep on the bed inside. A mischievous grin crossed her lips and Goku watched the fox curiously. In a few silent, swift movements, the vixen had crossed the large guest room and leapt on her slumbering friend.

"Wake up, Red! Time to spar!" Ethne had woken her friend like this countless times in their youth. Usually it was when she was sneaking into the barracks from the healing pods, opting for an obvious wake up call to hide her recent entrance. Not to mention sparring with her companion always helped shed the adrenaline she'd have built up from her punishment the night before.

Even thirty years apart was apparently not enough to override her friend's muscle memory response of rolling over and groaning, pulling the pillow tight over her head.

"Get up, little Red, before I start huffing and puffing," Ethne warned. The fox sprang out of the way as the groggy Pomegra sent a blast at her friend without emerging from under the pillow.  
Goku watched with amusement at Ethne's antics from the doorway, a warm smile on his lips.

Ethne grinned broadly at her groggy friend as she peered out from under the pillow, knowing full well how much Red hated mornings. She watched her stretch then toss the pillow at her. The fox caught it while her friend sat up. "Ethne, I'm glad your back but I still _hate_ mornings," her friend yawned out. The female Saiyan smirked as she noticed Ethne's collar was replaced with a large, raw, burn. "I see you did not like that collar after all. Care to share what happened?"

"Well..." The Trodaí was interrupted by a loud grumbling. She looked at her friend, trying to supress a laugh.

"I guess it's time for breakfast, ha ha ha!" Pomegra laughed.

Ethne left with Goku so Red could get dressed for the day and headed to the kitchen where the found Vegeta chowing down on some breakfast. The vixen watched Goku sit and help himself to the plates of bacon, eggs, waffles, and other breakfast foods.

"So, Veggie, where's a good spot around here to train?"

Vegeta slammed a fist on the table, jangling plates and silverware. "Dammit, Trodaí, if you use that name again..."

"You'll what? I don't see any of your goons around to string me up," she teased, a real malice hiding behind her playful tone.

His eyes narrowed at the ever defiant female.

Goku spoke up before the tension could escalate. "I know an island not far off that would be plenty big and isolated," he suggested with a full mouth.

Ethne turned to glare at the tall Saiyan. "Chew, Saiyan. Then talk." Goku swallowed a large mouthful forcefully then smiled at her apologetically. The fox just shook her head. "Not really sure how well either of us can really spar right now, anyways..."

"I could get you some Senzu," Goku offered.

"Some what?"

"Senzu beans. My friend Koren grows them. They'll fix you guys up quick and maybe we can spar," the sweet Saiyan said hopefully.

Ethne hid a smile at his eager response. "Sure." The Trodaí turned her attention back to the Prince. "How's she doing?" Concern showed in her voice.

"Hmph, she's fine. The pod took care of everything," he said off handedly, looking back to his meal.

"Yeah, I noticed. Seems odd that she's fine after finding out you guys are all that's left," Ethne prodded. Vegeta choked on his bite before quickly regaining his composure. The fox's ears lay flat as her glare burned a hole in the spiky-haired prince. "You didn't tell her."

"Tell her what?" Pomegra asked, walking into the kitchen, awake and dressed for the day.

The fox opened her mouth to speak, but the moody prince silenced her. "Shut your mouth, brat. I will tell her when I'm good and ready." He leaned closer to her, glaring. "Stay out of Saiyan buisness." Ethne growled low in her throat, ready to strike the aggrivating male. They stared each other down until the fox finally rolled her eyes. Maybe it would be better to hear it from a Saiyan. Ethne had grown up and trained there, but Vegeta-sai was their home. The Trodaí turned away from the Prince altogether, conceding. The Prince glanced at the female Saiyan before getting up to place his dish in the sink and left.

The female cocked her head at the Prince then turned to her friend. "Ok... What was that about?" She asked as she walked over to the table.

"Oh, nothing. You know how he gets," the vixen handed her friend a plate, knowing food was a sure fire way to distract a Saiyan. "So how do you feel, Red?"

Pomegra knew there was something her friend wasn't telling her but let it go, knowing the fox would talk to her at some point. "Eh, I'm starving but I feel better than I have in years."

"Well eat up, Red. You cannot hope to beat me in your current condition." Ethne said with a teasing smirk.

Pomegra scoffed, "And you, little vixen? Are the picture of health? You look worse then I do right now." The female looked lazily over at her friend. Ethne couldn't really argue that one. She was still incredibly pallid, her eyes sunken into dark circles, and the festering burn on her neck didn't help.

The Trodaí warrior laughed dismissively, "Ha. You and I both know I've had worse. The Saiyan here was just telling me about some magic beans he claims will heal us quickly," sheturned to the tall Saiyan, "Isn't that right?" She eyed him skeptically.

Goku's face lit up. "Yeah, I can just pop over there real fast and get a few," he said pushing back from the table. With a smile to the females, he placed two fingers to his forehead and vanished.

Pomegra froze mid-bite and looked to her friend for an explanation, she had yet to experience the oddity that was Goku. Ethne stared in confusion at the spot the tall Saiyan had been seconds before. Finally, she shrugged. She had already given up on figuring that guy out. "That is one strange Saiyan." Red laughed. Ethne watched her friend shovel food into her mouth at a rate Earthlings would consider alarming. "Shit, Red, slow down. You're going to make yourself sick shoveling in all that food at once!" She scolded good-naturedly. The female Saiyan retorted by sticking out her tongue, bits of food still clinging to it. The vixen scoffed and rolled her eyes, some things never change.

But as she looked her friend over, Ethne realized some things do change. Not just in age, but her friend was scrawny to the point of frailty, her hair stringy. _Maybe we could visit some local merchants, fix her up_ a _bit..._

Before Ethne could ruminate any further on the situation, there was a _papish_ noise and Goku was back, appearing out of thin air. He walked over to the Trodaí with a hand held out. The vixen cocked her head curiously but held out a hand, palm up. Goku placed two bright pods in her hand with a broad smile. Pomegra watched on curiously. "Um, thank you? What exactly do these things do anyway?" Ethne asked skeptically.

Goku scratched his head, "Well, they restore your energy and stamina. They always make me feel better, and full too," he laughed.

Ethne shook her head at the sunny Saiyan, but she was learning to just go with it. "Before you stick that forkful of food in your mouth, want to give this a try?" She turned to her friend and held one bean out to her.

The red-headed Saiyan looked it over then shrugged before popping it in her mouth. Ethne watched the female crunch the bean before following suit. After a second, she felt a rush through her body. Golden eyes widened as the throbbing pain was suddenly gone and she was filled with tremendous energy. She didn't think she had ever felt this amazing before!

"Whoa... What the...?" The female Saiyan began to ask, looking to the fox to see if she felt it too but was cut off when she saw the gaping burn covering half of Ethne's neck had reduced to no more than a jagged scar. "Your neck!"

"You face!" Ethne exclaimed at the same time.

Pomegra touched her face experimentally. "This is amazing! I feel like I can take on a whole army of mutants right now!" Pomegra leapt up from the table.

"Heh heh, see? Told ya a Senzu would fix you right up," Goku said, reaching out to touch her scar as he looked it over. "So... you up for some sparring?" He asked eagerly.

Ethne couldn't help but laugh. "You never stop, do you? I was thinking of fixing up Red over there first. Can't really have her running around in ratty Saiyan armour or borrowing clothes all the time." The vixen saw the tall Saiyan's face fall. He looked like a sad puppy. Ethne growled at herself internally for giving in. "Meet me at my ship around sunset."

The sweet Saiyan instantly perked up. "Yosh!" He smiled triumphantly. "See ya there!" He waved then placed two fingers to his head again and was gone.

Ethne just rolled her eyes and shook her head. She turned to Pomegra who was giving the vixen a sly smile. "What?" Ethne asked. Pomegra shook her head 'nothing'. "What?!" The fox snapped a little more defensively than she had intended. The fox growled at her friend and finally said. "Whatever. Let's go find a clothing merchant."

The heart of the city seemed so small to Ethne who had spent the last decades on cities that spanned planets, but was so large to Pomegra who hadn't seen anything close. Both females were fascinated by the sites. The foreign buildings. The Earthlings. Their technology and fashion, it was all strange and interesting. Ethne kept her ears low against her head and her tail wrapped around her hips, Pomegra's tail was tucked around her waist.

They wandered the city, more checking out the buildings and the people than doing any actual shopping. But, they still managed to pick up a couple outfits for each of them on the way. Ethne had exchanged a generous amount of the currency she had stashed up from her jobs over the years for Earth currency.

One of the places they came across seemed to deal in styling hair. "A salon?" Ethne looked over at her friend who was looking in a shop window wearing one of her new outfits, a pair of black yoga pants and a tight green tank. Her dark red hair was still stringy and matted. The fox walked over and looped her arm around one of her friend's arms and began dragging her along.

"Hey!" Pomegra snapped indignantly but went along with it. The fox dragged her up to the front counter of the salon.

"Hi! Welcome to Blu Salon. How can I help you?" A perky blonde behind the counter greeted with a broad smile.

"Fix this, please," Ethne shoved the female Saiyan up to the counter.

The blonde looked Pomegra over critically. "I think I know just the person to help."

The fox watched as Red was sat in a chair in front of a large mirror. A man in a bright and very low cut shirt strutted over. He looked Pomegra's hair over critically, making disappointed clucking noises. "Darling, I'm going to be honest here. You're a wreck. But not to worry, when I'm finished with you, you'll be stunning!" The flamboyant man assured. "Men will be throwing themselves at your feet!" He proclaimed before setting in on her hair before Pomegra could even protest. Ethne stifled a laugh as she watched her friend squirm as the stylist combed and clipped and sprayed.

When he was finally finished, he stepped back to examine his work critially. "Mmhmm, mmhmm... Yes! Perfection!" He declared in self-satisfaction. "You are finished, darling. Go spread gorgeousness to the city!" He shooed the Saiyan from the chair.

As they left the salon, Red was fidgeting with her hair. "You sure it looks alright? That guy didn't really give me a chance to see it."

"You look great. Now let's go mess up that _gorgeousness_ up a little. We're long over due for a match," Ethne smirked at her friend.

Red's face went from worried to determined. "Right. You're on."

The girls wound up on an expansive plateau in the middle of a prairie with the city just beyond the horizon. It was mid-afternoon, the sun had peaked hours ago and was steadily heading west while fluffy clouds rolled lazily by. It seemed like a good spot to spar, minimal obsticles and no one around to get in the way.

Facing off, Ethne smiled as her friend got into a familiar fighting stance. Springing into action, Pomegra knew better than to wait for the fox to take a stance. The fox dodged the opening blow easily, only to have to block a heel that was fast approaching her face. Ethne ducked in close, struck, was blocked, and sprang back.

Both females smirked as they fell into a familiar routine, muscle memory driving them for a time. The vixen decided to change things up, imploring new techniques she had picked up from various fighters and races over the years. Red began struggling a little, not blocking Ethne's blows with the ease and assuredness she used too.

However, Pomegra had some new moves of her own after fighting the undead over the years. But fighting the dead was different than fighting the living and the Trodaí was taking full advantage of that. Ethne was impressed that her friend was keeping up as well as she had been this far. With her Saiyan power, some training and some more sparring, Ethne felt Pomegra could catch back up in no time.

After a few hours, both girls stood panting. "Come on, Red. That all you got?" Ethne goaded.

"What about you, Vixen? I know you're holding back and I can tell you're hiding something," the female Saiyan shot back. Ethne just smirked.

"She's not using her fire."

Both women turned to look at the voice. Vegeta was floating near the plateau, looking down on the girls fighting. Ethne glared daggers at the Prince while Red looked at him in confusion. "Her fire?"

"Stay out of this, Veggie," the fox snarled and shot a warning fireball at the aggrivating prince. He casually dodged the nuisance attack.

"Ethne..." Pomegra began evenly.

"Yeeeessss...?" Ethne asked innocently, her ears falling.

"What was that?" Her calm tone made the fox cringe.

"Hm? Oh. That was a fireball," Ethne stated, backing away slowly.

Pomegra nodded. "I see. Would you mind telling me... when the HELL YOU MANAGED TO LEARN THAT?!" Red had always been like Ethne when it came to opponents holding back.

"Well... there was this old pyromancer and... Say, what are you doing here anyway, Veggie? It's not like we're on your training grounds anymore," the fox went with the obvious change in topic.

Vegeta scoffed. "I don't have to explain my actions to a Trodaí." Ethne glared at the Prince while Red was glaring daggers at the fox. Finally it dawned on her. He had come to see Red. After so many years, it could be he was just curious about one of the last surviving members of his species... but thinking back on his constant unnecessary interruptions when they were younger made her wonder if there wasn't something more.

Quickly thinking of an excuse so as to test her theory, Ethne looked over to her angry friend and smiled at her apologetically before glacier obviously up at the sun. "My, is it that late? Well, great seeing you, Veggie but I got elsewhere to be..." The fox said, backing towards the edge of the plateau.

"You told that weird Saiyan you'd meet him at sunset," Red stated accusingly.

"Well, knowing him he's probably already waiting. Bye, Red," Ethne rocketed away at full speed before either Saiyan could respond.

×:×:×:×

The fox had landed in the fort a short ways off from her ship. Her ears lazily turned towards the soft sounds of nature; the gentle gurgling of the stream nearby, the symphony of birds, the soft crack of branches under the hooves of a grazing deer. Ethne closed her eyes and tilted her face toward the warm light of the sun.

She could smell him long before she neared the clearing where her ship sat. A smirk curling her lips, the fox crouched down and crept silently towards the edge of the clearing, concealed completely by foliage. Carefully peering through the branches of a bush she saw... nothing. No Saiyan to be found. Her ears flattened in confusion, he was here, she could smell him. Ears perking back up, she closed her eyes and listened for his heartbeat.

Golden eyes shot open as she rolled to the side. A fist cracked the ground where she had been and the Trodaí stared wide eyed at the Saiyan for a moment. "Heh heh, Almost gotcha there."

"Yeah, I'm impressed," she flashed a fangled grin. Ethne rose to her feet as Goku did.

"You're pretty good at masking your Ki, but I could still feel you coming when you got close." Ethne wasn't used to people being able to sense Kis without a scouter and she could mask her Ki more than enough for any of those.

"You were waiting for me," she realized. He must have known to spread his scent around the clearing and waited for her in a tree. "You're smarter than I thought," she mused aloud.

"Um, thank you?" Goku scratched his head as he watched a new sort of smile cross her face.

"Which means I don't have to hold back against you," flames swirled to life around her fists as she stared down the tall male.

A determined look set itself on Goku's face and he lowered himself into a ready position. "Alright! This is gunna be fun."

The vixen's eyes flashed mischievously. "You have no idea."

×:×:×:×

 _Whew! We sick for being slow, sorry about that but life happens. Mostly a filler chapter here but things are about to get good! Go amuse yourself with Pomegra's side of the story and we'll be back with more soon... hopefully_

 _Don't forget to fav, follow, and review! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!_

 _-Hel_

 _(A VixNMonkee collaboration)_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

×:×:×:×

Crickets chirped their early evening song. The sun had only recently gone down but the peace of night had already set in. What few stars that made their way through the light pollution of the city twinkled overhead. A soft breeze came and went like the breath of the city. The quieting roar of traffic sounded almost like a tide. Capsule Corp sat in near darkness with only a few lights remaining on inside.

A sound too high pitched for anyone other than canines streaked from the dark shadows of the well manicured trees. A thin metal rod pointed on both ends embedded one on the side of the building just below a third story window. An electric green light blinked for a few seconds before going out.

...

...

 **BOOM**

×:×:×:×

Birds fled in a swarming cloud as loud bangs echoed through the mountains. If you were daring enough to get close, you'd be able to here grunts, shouts, and the occasional taunt thrown around between the two clashing forces. The sun was had vanished just beyond the horizon, painting the sky with vivid purples and oranges. A snarl escaped a fanged mouth as a blue blast of Ki was trying to force it's way passed defenses.

Goku shouted out, increasing his blast as he gave his Kamehameha another push towards it's intended target. The Saiyan had jumped up to Super Saiyan two somewhere during the afternoon long match. A fox encased in swirling flames growled low in her throat and shoved back at the blast, she couldn't hold it back much longer.

 _Fuck._ The Trodaí mentally cursed as she realized she'd have to face the inevitable. She couldn't handle this blast at her current power level. Luckily, the tricky fox had one last trump card up her sleeve. Yelling out, the flames that had earlier traveled from just her fists to encase her entire body, shot skyward as the fox's Ki began to climb rapidly.

The Saiyan's eyes widened briefly but then settled back into an eager smile as he focused on his blast and awaited what he was sure to be a new level of opponent. The flames grew brighter and brighter, glowing ever hotter until Ethne was engulfed in a white light. Goku squinted against the intense glow and watched eagerly as it died down.

Ethne's body had lost all skin tone and definition, what remained was a white hot glowing figure with piercing red eyes. Her hair and tail had elongated and turned into lively red-orange flames the crackled and waved about her. A red aura topped off the transformation.

A fanged smirk appeared on her featureless face briefly before disappearing just and she sped under the stalled Kamehameha wave. Goku's eyes darted around, waiting for her to appear for an attack. But when his blast had finally struck a mountain side, she was still no where to be seen. Everything was steadily growing darker, fading from sunset to night. A sudden white hot fire ball came shooting from the darkness. Goku dodged but with the sudden bright light in the dark, his vision was obscured with blue spots almost as though he had been looking at the sun.

A punch connected with his shoulder blade from behind him. Goku whirled around just as he saw the bright figure flicker out and dissappear into the deepening shadows. The Saiyan smirked and felt another light jab from behind but before he turned, the fire that was Ethne roared into life in front of him.

Goku just barely managed to block a kick and realized he couldn't keep up with her new form at his current level. Temporarily pushing her back with a blast of Ki, Goku raised himself to Super Saiyan three. In a blur of orange, Ethne was behind him again. Holding a lock of the newly lengthened blonde hair in her white hot hand. "Nice hair," she commented, her voice holding a new rasp to it.

"Heh heh, I could say the same," Goku replied, whirling a kick at her. She dropped his hair and blurred into a zig zag of light before settling a short distance away.

"What this?" Ethne said 'fluffing' the flame that crackled around her head. "And here I was worried the heat would make it frizzy," her sarcasm was playful. Goku launched an attack. Ethne dodged and blocked the Saiyan's rapid blows.

Goku replied sincerely as he threw punch after kick, "I think you look great." Glowing red eyes blinked and a fist made solid contact with her abdomin as Ethne was momentarily thrown off by his words. She was used to flattery and compliments, but he had said it more as a casual statement and with no motive that she could dicern. The Saiyan watched her pick herself back up. She shot towards him before her flame flickered out and she was gone in the dark once more.

Anticipating her move this time, Goku whirled around and caught her glowing white wrist just before her fist made contact. Goku smirked triumphantly. His smile quickly faded as one grew on the formless face of Ethne. The Saiyan dropped her wrist and jumped back with a yelp. "Yikes! That's hot!" He whined, blowing on his smoking palm. Ethne laughed.

"Brief contact doesn't do much to you in... whatever you call this yellow thing you do... but it seems my flames are still too hot for you."

"Heh heh, guess you're right," the sweet Saiyan admitted. "And the yellow thing is called Super Saiyan. I was just at Super Saiyan two, this is Super Saiyan three."

"Wait... Super Saiyan as in the legendary Super Saiyan?" She had grown up hearing the legends during her time on Vegeta-sai.

Goku shrugged. "I think that was this guy named Broley. But we beat him... a couple times," he laughed with a hand at the back of his head. Ethne stared blankly at the odd Saiyan for a moment before blinking repeatedly then shaking her head.

"What other suprises you got for me?" The fox goaded with a seductive smile .

Goku smirked mischievously. "Just this." Goku seemed to revert to Super Saiyan, but this time, his hair and aura were a bright blue. Glowing red eyes widened. She couldn't sense his Ki even the little that she could before, but the smell of the very air surrounding him changed and her fox ears picked up a pulsing sound too low for others to hear.

She instinctively took a step back only to find he was already a short distance behind her with a blast ready to fire. Ethne saw the triumphant smirk on his lips just before she was blasted, shooting her fiery figure through several threes before crashing to a halt with a thunderous, mountain cranking boom.

Ethne's flame flickered out and her hair and tail fell around her as she reverted to her base form. Golden eyes blinked open from a momentary black out to see a smiling blue Saiyan standing over her. "Heh heh. Think I gotcha that time," Goku beamed proudly. He held out a large hand to her.

Ethne blinked at the outstretched hand then started laughing. "I suppose you did," she accepted the hand then was hoisted to her feet.

"I'll have to watch out for that fire form of yours. You almost had me there."

"Yeah... it does have one drawback though..." Ethne said.

Goku cocked his head. "What's that?"

The Trodaí looked at him dumbfounded for a moment. She thought it had been pretty obvious, her clothes had burned away. Her breasts were covered with her long, thick red-orange hair and her fluffy tail was wrapped around low on her hips to cover the space between her legs. "... My clothes burned up."

He blinked and took another look. "Oh right, I guess you _are_ naked," he chuckled good naturedly. Ethne watched the Saiyan in confusion. Most would be gaping or embarrassed to see the vixen nude, but this one seemed to think it natural enough to not bat an eye... or even notice. "Here, you can use this." Goku untied his belt and handed over his gi top.

Hesitating a moment. Ethne finally accepted it and slipped it on, tying it closed around her waist with his blue belt. "Thanks, Saiyan," she said sincerely.

"Hey, no problem," Goku waved it off. His face suddenly dropped and his head whipped to the side.

"What are you..." Ethne stopped as the soft pulsing red glow of her stone suddenly shown bright. She looked to Goku and knew from his face that there was something serious going on. Without saying a word, the suddenly stoic Saiyan wrapped one arm around Ethne's waist and put the other to his forehead.

In a _papish,_ they were outside Capsule Corp. The round building had been transformed into a blazing inferno. Half of the building had gone up in roaring flames, the other drenched in thick black smoke. Ethne's ears rotated towards sounds of a fight. Turning golden eyes up to the noise, she could see Vegeta and Pomegra facing off with a hulking figure.

A breeze came up, blowing the smoke away long enough for the fox to recognize the half-mechanical hunter known as Borg. One electric green eye glowed brightly next to its dark human counter part. The beast of a man held out his two thick silver arms, projectiles popping up from his forearms. A low robotic chuckle rolled from up from a silver throat to erupt from a human mouth. "Finally showing yourself, foxy?"

Goku and Ethne flew up to join Pomegra and Vegeta. "The fuck are you doing here, Borg?" Ethne said in a bored tone, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Seems someone managed to slip her leash," his metalic voice answered.

The Trodaí scoffed. "And Rumron sent _you_ to rein me in. I'm insulted," she smirked.

There were whirring and clicking noises as Borg's left fist shifted several silver parts, turning his hand into a blaster. "Rumron needs you back alive, Sitgard's got some big plans in the works, but that doesnt mean I cant kill your little friends and rough you up a little first," Borg threatened with an ominous smile. "I'm gunna finally wipe that smile off your face, foxy."

A bright green blast rolled towards the four. They all easily dodged, but behind the light of the blast, Borg had shot off a series of metallic spikes. Being electronic, they gave off no Ki and produced a sound too high pitched to hear. Ethne's ears twitched, Picking up on the sound of the darts. Sending a series of fireballs, she managed to get most of the darts, exploding them in a burst of red-orange flames and electric green sparks. The few remaining shot towards Goku, who was still focusing on deflecting the bright cannon blast.

"Dammit, Saiyan," she cursed. The fox sped over to the Saiyan and placed her feet on his shoulders then sprang off, the force sending him downward. The darts tore through the air Goku had just occupied.

"I didn't feel those coming at all," Goku stated with slight suprise.

"They're electronic, they don't give off Ki," Ethne informed.

"Oh... Just like No. 18, huh?" Goku mused.

"I don't know what that means," the Trodaí said flatly.

Goku's face turned serious as his gaze went to the mechanical attacker. "Hey! You can't just go around destroying people's houses. Leave now, before you get hurt," the sweet Saiyan warned.

Ethne's eyes closed tightly as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Really? You're _scolding_ him?" She said, exasperated.

Her commentary went unnoticed as Borg chuckled darkly. "Heh heh heh. Sure thing, hand over the fox and I'll be on my way."

"Fuck off," Ethne quipped in a bored tone.

"Why're you so anxious to get her back?" Goku questioned with folded arms.

"Boss has got something in the works. Rumron needs her back before Sitgard notices his favorite pet is gone. Besides, there's quite a bounty on her pretty little head. Eh heh heh heh..." he answered with a wicked smirk.

Ethne snarled at the pet remark, her ears laying back. She flexed her claws as they ignited. "What's Sitgard got planned?" This didn't sit well with Ethne. Since Rumron and Sitgard were confident in their control over her and with her being their preferred attack dog, she was almost always around when they discussed buisness. For her to have been kept out of the loop when something big was in the works was not a good sign.

Borg wagged a mechanical finger and clicked his tongue chastisingly. "That's confidential, foxy. Come to heal like a good girl and maybe the boss will let you in on it." Ethne snarled in response, the flames around her hands crackling. With some whiring and clicking, Borg's arm turned into a cannon once more. He aimed it menacingly at the Trodaí. "I'm loosing my patience here, little fox. We've had enough set backs with the incident on Doggu. Luckily we got samples from F157 before it was taken over." Ethne's ears perked up at the familiar names as golden eyes darted to her friend who's own eyes had grown wide. "Time to go, foxy," the cyborg smirked as electric green light began to gather within his cannon.

Ethne braced herself for the blast but was shocked when the green ray struck the smoldering Capsule Corp, destroying another generous portion of what had remained. Her head snapped towards her former fellow Hunter, fangs bared, but it was Vegeta who sprang into action first.

"I do not care about the fate of that fox," Vegeta growled as he shot passed Ethne and Goku. "But this oversized toaster destroyed my home, he's mine," the Prince called as he approached the cyborg, fist pulled back.

"No fair," Goku pouted unnoticed by Vegeta or Borg but Ethne rolled her eyes.

"You aren't missing out on much. Borg is great at explosives, not so much at single combat," the fox crossed her arms and waited. "Especially when he's vastly outclassed like against Veggie there. I bet that angry Earth female could take Borg."

"Why would they send someone so weak after you?" Pomegra asked.

"That's one thing I don't like. For them to send Borg... everyone else must be busy," Ethne didn't like this at all. From the look on Red's face, she didn't like this either. The vixen dropped her arms and turned to her friend. "Did you find anything at F157 before you destroyed it?"

"Well, it was not destroyed exactly, as it was over run by mutants. But maybe _they_ were the ones after the virus," the female Saiyan grit her teeth. "You think they're after the virus?" Red asked. Ethne watched her friend's eyes darken as she remembered the horrors of the virus from her time stranded on Planet Doggu. "We can't let them have it," she said with determination.

Ethne nodded in agreement. "Right." She looked over her shoulder at Vegeta who had Borg by the neck, repeatedly punching him in his half robotic face while Borg's hulking form hung limply from the Prince's grasp. "You about done?" The fox asked with a tone of impatience.

"Don't start with me, brat," he snarled. Ethne rolled her eyes. Pulling his hand back, Ki built up in Vegeta's palm. Pressing his palm to the cyborg's metalic abdomin, he unleashed a large blast. Satisfied with the damage dealt, Vegeta released his other hand and let the smoking Borg plummet to the ground, leaving the cyborg unconcious in a crater.

"What are we going to do with him?" Red asked.

Ethne shrugged, "Sell him for scrap." Pomegra smirked.

"I know! Isn't Bulma friend's with Jaco now? We can have her call him and take this guy to space jail or whatever!" Goku suggested.

The fox face palmed. "Space jail? I swear, Saiyan..." Goku chuckled good naturedly at her frustration.

"So, Vixen... What's with the get-up?" Red asked, holding back a smirk as she tugged at shoulder of Goku's gi top Ethne was still clad in.

The vixen fought back a blush. "We were sparring and my clothes kinda... burned up..." she explained.

"Suuure they did," the female Saiyan teased.

Ethne socked her friend in the shoulder playfully. "How was your match with Veggie?" the fox asked, changing the subject.

"Ah heh, it was interesting to say the least. I thought hitting you was hard," she turned to her friend, "he was ridiculous! I mean, I tried everything I could think of to hit him, and I almost had to use..." Pomegra paused, "well, a move I have not practiced often, hah ha!" The vixen could tell she was hiding something.

Goku tilted his head, "What kinda move? You fought with Vegeta? Did he transform at all?" He asked excitedly.

The females turned to Goku. "Transform? What do you mean, "transform"?" Red asked.

Goku chuckled, "Heh heh, if he didn't, than I probably shouldn't say anythin', he might get mad…" he said with his hand on the back of his head. Ethne assumed he was talking about Super Saiyan.

A small rounded spaceship came streaking through the sky, landing outside the smoldering remains of Capsule Corporation. AAs threw hatch opened, Pomegra and Ethne crouched, ready for another attacker. Goku tilted his head, but recognized who it was. Vegeta must have gone and told Bulma already to send for Jaco.

"Oh hey, Goku! Who's your friends? Bulma said you got something for me?" A petite alien in a spandex uniform greeted.

The still shirtless Saiyan advanced and clapped the newcomer on the shoulder a bit to roughly, "Oh hey, Jaco! Yeah, this guy," he thumbed over his shoulder, "and these are my new friends, Ethne and Pomegra." The women relaxed and the group exchanged pleasantries before filling Jaco in.

The short alien pulled out a handheld devise and held it up to the cyborg, "Yeah, there's a pretty decent reward for this guy's capture." He started. Goku helped Jaco load the hulking machine man into his ship. Jaco hurried off shortly after, saying something about a schedule to keep to. The girls yawned and looked about at the fire from the building.

"So, where we going to sleep tonight then?" Pomegra turned to her friend with a yawn.

Goku chimed in before Ethne could, "I know a place! I have a friend who lives on an island who has plenty of room for you two! Come on, I'll take you there!" Before either could respond, Goku had placed Pomegra's hand on his shoulder and grabbed hold of Ethne's hand. Placing two fingers of his free hand to his forehead they vanished with a _papish._

They reappeared in a modest second story room lit dimly by a lamp on a nightstand. The windows were cracked open, a salty breeze made the curtains dance. Goku gestured to a closet along one wall. "There should be some bed rolls and pillows in there. I'll go tell Master Roshis we're here."

"You volunteered someone's house to two complete strangers and show up in the bedroom without even knocking or checking that it's ok we stay here?" Ethne questioned disbelieving. "And next time, give someone a little warning before you go poofing them random places."

Goku waved her off and smiled apologetically. "Sorry. And Roshi won't mind."

Ethne sighed, her ears dropping. "I'm too tired to deal with your backwards logic. I'd give you your shirt back but it seems I'm going to have to borrow it a little longer."

"No worries. It looks good on you. Night," Goku waved to the two friends before turning to leave through the door. Ethne was caught taken aback at the casual compliment. There it was again, that genuine niceness without wanting anything from her, he certainly was a strange one.

The vixen turned towards Red who was sifting through the closet. She emerged moments later with two bed rolls and a pair of pillows and handed a set to the fox. Normally, her friend would have been teasing her relentlessly over a compliment from a guy, but now she remained quiet. The Trodaí knew what Vegeta had told her earlier and she was sure Red's mind was heavy. Ethne wasn't sure if Pomegra was pretending not to have heard Goku's comment or if she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to have noticed. Either way, both were glad for the quiet as they lay down to sleep to the soft crashing of the waves below.

:×:×:×:×:

 _Wow it's been a while, sorry about that. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and hopefully we'll be back with more soon! Things are just getting started! Want to know more about what's going on with Pomegra? Of course you do. Her side of the story: Destructive Games: Survivor (Pomegra) can be found under me favorites._

 _-Hel_

(A VixNMonkee collaboration)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

:×:×:×:×:

"Are you sure we should be in here?" A nervous high-pitched voice asked.

"It'll be fine as long as we don't get caught, now be quiet," a hushed tone snapped.

Puar and Oolong crept into the guest bedroom as stealthily as they could. Slowly, they approached the two sleeping forms.

"Shouldn't we just wait for them to wake up?" The floating cat was having second thoughts.

The pig rolled his eyes. "Psh, don't you want to see what this girl Saiyan and fox lady look like?" Oolong's mouth practically began to water picturing the females with outrageous curves.

"Look," Puar whispered, pointing to a fluffy tail poking out from under one of the blankets, his apprehension temporarily out weighed by his curiosity as he floated closer to the sleeping fox.

Oolong carefully snuck over to Pomegra's bed roll. "She's cute," he commented in a hush.

Puar looked over at the sleeping Saiyan. "I thought she'd be scarier." Red rolled to her side in her sleep, startling the creeping pair. Both jumped back and froze, holding their breath until they are sure she was still asleep. Both breathed a sigh of relief.

 _"You're_ turn," Oolong smirked mischievously.

"M-me?" The cat stuttered nervously. "No way, let's get out of here," he whispered urgently.

"Scardy cat," the pig mocked quietly.

"Am not!" Puar snapped, instantly clamping his paws over his mouth. Ethne's ears twitched as both waited, too terrified to move. Both females' eyes snapped open.

:×:×:×:×:

Goku sat on one end of an U shaped couch in the living room of his childhood master's house. He had slept there that night, awaking to Roshi prodding him with his cane. When Goku explained he brought two women with him, Roshi instantly forgot any irritation he had at hisHalf dressed former pupil for showing up annanounced to crash on his couch.

"Two girls you say?" Roshi mused thoughtfully. "What are they like? Are they young? Are they beautiful?" He gushed enthusiastically, suddenly very exciting from imaging the women Goku brought to his home.

Goku chuckled at Roshi's chipper attitude and scratched his head in thought. "Heh heh. Yeah. Pomegra is a Saiyan with red hair. And Et is a cute... fox-person..." he trailed off trying to think of what her race was called. "Oh hey, Yamcha," Goku greeted as said friend walked in from the open front door.

"Hey, Goku. Did I hear something about cute girls?"

"Goku here brought his old master some fine young girls to brighten up my little island. I have such considerate pupils," Roshi sniffed, tearing up at his delusion. Goku chuckled nervously and waved his hands in a "it's not like that" manner.

"Oh yeah? Where are these babes at?" Oolong, who tagged along with Yamcha and Puar, asked hungrily.

Goku jerked his thumb towards the stairs. "Sleeping." After some more brief conversation and details, Oolong talked Puar into sneaking upstairs while the other three caught up. After a few short minutes, an angry roar floated down to the three men in the living room. "SAIYAN!"

Roshi and Yamcha cringed and looked to Goku who currently had a wincing, terrified expression on his face. "Guess Et's up," he tried to laugh off. A large bundle came shooting down the stairs to crash into the Saiyan's chest, knocking him off the couch and crashing to the ground.

The men looked horrified at the bundle as they realized it was Puar and Oolong bound back to back and gagged. "The fuck are you doing sending these pervs in on us while we're sleeping?!" Ethne snarled from the top of the stairs, an equally furious Pomegra glaring from her friend's side.

"Um... Good morning," Goku offered sheepishly from his undignified toppled position on the floor.

"... _'Good morning'?!"_ Ethne's hands ignited before throwing a fireball at the scared Saiyan. Goku yelped and rolled out of the way. The fire ball struck the short coffee table, blowing it to pieces.  
"That was close," Goku let out a sigh of relief before quickly becoming terrified again. Scrambling, the Saiyan barely made it to his feet in time to catch Ethne's small fist in his large hand when she charged him.

He smirked proudly at catching her blow but the vixen just smirked back. "Gotcha," she taunted. Quickly ducking, the fox revealed Red directly behind her, already throwing a punch the female Saiyan had prepared. Her fist made solid contact with Goku's face, sending him flying out the still open front door. Ethne smirked at the Saiyan laying dazed in the sand as she stood and put her hands on her hips.

"Goku makes some interesting friends," Yamcha commented sheepishly with a sweat drop.

With the females feeling placated for that morning's intrusion, Roshi invited them to join them for breakfast. The floating cat whipped up some delicious dishes once released, he was a suprisingly good cook. Everyone sat around the U shaped couch, holding their plates in their laps since the coffee table lay in splinters on the floor.

"Sorry about that," Ethne had apologized. "I can buy you a replacement." She had finished her food and was now watching Pomegra and Goku as they continued to eat. Red finally finished before long but Goku still shoveled it in. "Even for a Saiyan you're a glutton," the vixen commented. Goku said some sort of unintelligible response through a mouthful of food. Ethne pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily. "Chew, Saiyan. Then talk," she said already exasperated with him. "Anyway, I'll need you to poof me back to my ship when you're done. I need to grab some clothes and clean it up before I go."

The Saiyan male forcefully swallowed a lump of food before speaking. "Go?"

"Yes. You heard Borg, Sitgard is up to something big. I need to find out what and how to stop him," she explained.

"I will come," Red stated. "I know what that virus can do, I am not going to let anyone use it on some unsuspecting populace." Ethne nodded in understanding.

"I'll come with, too," Goku offered.

The vixen cocked her head as she looked to him. "Why?"  
Goku shrugged. "Those Hunters are still after you right? And those Sitgard and Rumraisin guys are strong?"

Ethne smirked at his name mix up. "Rumron. And yes, very."

"Then it's settled," Goku said with determination, rising to his feet.

"Oh it is, is it? Who the hell said you could come?" Ethne glared.

"Aw, come on, Et. I wanna fight some strong guys!" He pleaded, palms together in prayer fashion.  
The Trodaí mulled it over. He _may_ come in handy, especially if it came to a battle with Sitgard. Ethne sighed. "Ugh, you're too pitiful to turn down. Fine, you can come."

Goku pumped his fist victoriously. "Yosh!" Ethne hid a smirk at his excitement. "Oh, should we invite Vegeta?" The Saiyan said as an after thought. "He likes fighting strong guys too. And he's probably still mad about his house..." Goku scratched his cheek with one finger thoughtfully

Ethne shrugged. "Why the hell not. We've already got more bodies than seats, one more can't hurt," she said dismissively. Secretly, the fox had an ulterior motive. She still wanted to see if her theory about Vegeta having a thing for Red was true. "You can take Red to talk to Veggie while I get my ship cleaned up. We can leave tonight."

"Yosh!" Goku declared then put two fingers to his forehead and dissappeared.

The girls stared at where he had just been. "... Do you think he will notice?" Red asked, wondering how long it would take the male to realize he had forgotten them.

 _Papish._ Goku reappeared with a sheepish smile on his face. "Remind me why I'm bringing you?" Ethne said with a heavy sigh. Goku just gave an apologetic chuckle and waited for the girls to each place a hand on one of his shoulders before vanishing once more.

Goku had found Vegeta's Ki easily and brought the girls to a barren plateau in the middle of a desert. Vegeta stood at the edge with arms folded staring out at the sky.

"This better be good," he growled without turning to face the three intruding on his solitude.

"Oh it is," Ethne said, shoving her friend towards the clearly grouchy Prince. "Meet you at the old pervert's house tonight. Have fun!" The vixen chirped at Red with a wink before disappearing with the tall Saiyan in a _papish._

Ethne smirked to herself as she and Goku appeared in the clearing by her ship. Goku cocked his head at her expression. "What?" He asked curiously.

"Nothing," she said dismissively with a wave of her hand. Ethne walked over to her ship and opened the hatch, immediately gagging upon its opening. "Ugh! Fuck me!" The Trodaí swore at the repugnant stench of caked blood and stale vomit. "May have to let this air out over night..." she mused to herself. After heading inside for a moment, she returned with clothing in her arms. There was no way she could stay in that stench long enough to change so she headed behind a tree. Goku waited, looking around at the trees in a bored manner. He hated waiting. A minute or so later, he heard Ethne yelp from her spot behind a tree.

Without hesitation, he bolted over to see what had made the fox yelp. "Et?" He asked, rounding the tree. He was met with a sharp blow to the side of his jaw that sent him crashing sideways into another tree. The Saiyan shook his head and looked up to see Ethne, now in tight black pants and black sleeves that went from her wrists to her upper arms, finishing pulling a short strapless top over her chest.

"Who the hell said you could come back here?" She growled at the pesky Saiyan.

Goku rubbed his jaw as he rose to his feet. "Why'd you yelp like that?!"

The vixen's cheeks pinkened as she pointed over to a tree. "That," she admitted bashfully. There on the trunk, crawled a six inch red-brown centipede.

Goku blinked and looked at the tree confused. "You mean the centipede?"

Ethne visibly shuddered. "If that's what you call those disturbing things, yes."

The Saiyan walked over to the tree and picked the squirming bug up by its tail. The centipede's many segmented legs squirmed as its body tried to curl up towards Goku's fingers. "It's just a bug, see?" He held it out towards Ethne who backed up against the tree behind her to distance herself from the creepy crawly.

"Yep, got it. Now get it away," she glared at the writhing nightmare in the Saiyan's fingers.

A wicked smirk crossed Goku's face. He advanced on the Trodaí with the centipede in his outstretched hand. "Just look at it, it's harmless."

"Get that thing away from me, Saiyan," Ethne warned, backing herself further against the tree as though she was trying to phase through it. Goku chuckled mischievously and brought the creature closer. The vixen yelped and sent out a large blast of flames. Goku, now charred, fingers empty as the centipede had burned away into nothing, blinked then coughed out a puff of smoke.

"Do you have a death wish?!" The vixen snarled angrily.

Goku shook off the ash and smiled gleefully at Ethne. "Heh heh. Couldn't help it," he laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

Golden eyes glares at him as Ethne stood with her hand on her hips. "Remind me to kick your ass later for that. I've gotta get to cleaning that ship. Here," she handed his shirt to the Saiyan now that she had clothes of her own on. "Thanks."

"No problem," Goku said as he began slipping it on, still shirtless from the night before. "You can borrow it anytime. Looks good on you," he smiled cheerfully.

A small smile curved her lips. "I may have to take you up on that." Ethne ran a black claw lightly across his bare chest as she walked passed, his shirt still hanging open with the tie in his hand. "After all, you look pretty good with out it," the vixen said over her shoulder as she walked away, tail swaying in time with her hips. Goku smirked as he watched her walk away.

:×:×:×:×:

The number of guests had increased by the time they had returned to Master Roshi's. Krillin played with little Marron on the beach while No. 18 watched from a beach chair as the sun set. Roshi slept on a chair next to the house with an open prono magazine over his face, a large sea turtle slumbering in the sand beside him. Yamcha stood near Krillin and chatted while the short man played in the sand.

Krillin looked up when he heard the _papish_ signaling Goku's arrival. He stood and handed his daughter over to Yamcha. She immediately began cheerfully demanding a horsey ride. Yamcha tried to refuse at first, but after a warning glare from mama 18, was more than happy to run around on all fours in the sand with the little blonde laughing on his back. Krillin walked up to Goku and the foxy female he arrived with.

"Hey, Goku. Vegeta and Pomegra are waiting inside. This must be Ethne. I'm Krillin, nice to meet you," the man greeted with a sunny smile.

"Is this one a perv, too?" Ethne asked, eyeing Krillin critically. Krillin laughed nervously with a sweat drop at her insulting, but probably justified, question.

Goku clapped a hand roughly on his friend's shoulder. "Krillin's a good guy. That's his wife No. 18 and his daughter Marron," the Saiyan pointed to the blonde females in turn.

The fox's face softened into a welcoming smile. "Then it's a pleasure to meet you," she greeted, extending a slender hand which Krillin accepted and shook.

The sky was bruised dark blues and purple with a hint of red as the last of the sunlight vanished over the watery horizon. The tide lapped peacefully against the soft sand. Vegeta and Pomegra emerged from the small house as Ethne was becoming acquainted with No. 18.

"So, you decided to join us?" Ethne asked the grouchy Saiyan beside her friend with a smirk.

The Prince folded his arms. "Hmph. This mission would be hopeless without me."

The fox rolled her eyes. "Yes. Whatever would we do without you?" Her voice was heavy with sarcasm. A light beep at her chest distracted the Trodaí as a look of confusion crossed her face.

"What is it?" Red asked.

Ethne pulled a slim device out from it's spot in her cleavage. It blinked with a green light in one corner. "A message was recieved on my ship," she stated. "But that shouldn't be possible. I disabled all communications when I bought it and detroyed all tracking and tracing before I removed my collar..." she trailed off in uneasy thought. She looked to Goku who had wondered over during the coversation.

He nodded in understanding. "Right." He put a hand on her shoulder and the other to his forehead. Red put a hand on the tall Saiyan's shoulder with Vegeta placing a hand on the other.

 _Papish._ They arrived in the clearing where Ethne's ship waited. All light had left the sky with only a sliver of a moon over head. The fox quickly entered her ship and sat at the controls, grateful that the stench of death had left at last. Her fingers moved rapidly across the buttons in front of her as the Saiyans gathered behind her. As Pomegra looked about her friend's ship, she understood the vixen's earlier comment about more bodies than seats. It was a small ship built for one. One chair, one cot, a small bathroom to the back and not much else. The whole ship was perhaps the size of a small bedroom.

Ethne cursed profusely under her breath as she tried to retrieve the message. Vegeta glared at her vulgarity as Goku looked on clueless. "Fuck, finally," the fox sighed as a fuzzy image blinked into view before them. It crackled with static and glitched terribly but that was to be expected when the ship wasn't even set up to send or receive communications of any kind.

The Trodaí squinted at the image. "Niphro?"

"Someone you know?" Red asked.

"I think it's Niphro, another Collar," she said, messing with some buttons to try to clear the message up.

"A what?" Goku asked.

Ethne tapped at the buttons and responded without looking up. "A Collar. A Hunter who was brought in involuntarily and controlled. There's Collars like Niphro and I, and Leashes like Rumron who scout, break, and control the Collars." She glared I'm concentration at the controls before her. "There. Not great but we should be able to make it out now."

The picture was still very glitchy and the static was still bad, but a scene that looked something like a cave came into focus along with an aviary looking male. "...can't ... Sitga ... moon ... virus ... help..." The image massage cut out completely, leaving the viewers to stare thoughtfully at the empty space before them.

"It could be worth checking out," Pomegra said, knowing what her friend was thinking.

Ethne didn't like it. Niphro had never been very good with technology, nevermind being able to hack an untraceable ship with no communications to leave a message. But he did seem to be talking about Sitgard and a virus, any information he had could be indespensible.

"It seemed like he needed help. We should go," Goku offered.

"Can you trace where it came from?" Vegeta asked critically.

The Trodaí nodded. "From a moon off a planet just outside this solar system."

"Then get to it," Vegeta ordered.

"Right." After pushing a few more buttons a devious smirk crossed her face. "Hold on to something."

:×:×:×:×:

 _Our heroes are finally about to get this mission underway. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to read Red's side of the story over at Destructive Games:Survivor. We'll try to get the next chapter out soon, things are about to get good! Hope to hear what you think of the story so far._

 _-Hel_

 _(A VixNMonkee collaboration)_


End file.
